In Darkness May Light Shine
by RJRelentless
Summary: After the night we'd had - our family's brutal murder, our Castle over run by Rendon Howe's men - traveling south, away from Highever, sounded like a good plan to me. After all, that's where I met the love of my life. M!CouslandXLeliana, F!CouslandXF!Hawke. POV M!Cousland. Gift fic for movienut96. No Blight AU
1. Chapter 1

_On a dark summer night in Highever, all that could be heard was the tittering and spitting of the embers of a dying fire. Of course, there were more distant noises, such as the hootings of a barn owl and the cheering from the local tavern, but the fire was the nearest noise that I, Aedan Cousland, could hear._

 _I slowly awoke from my restful slumber, feeling too sloppy to rise from my bed, like I always did when I hadn't had enough sleep. I curled back deeper into my pillow, relishing in the warmth the bed gave me as I tried, in vain, to get back to sleep. Usually, I could easily fall asleep with the quiet commotion coming through my window as I was so used to the noises, but no matter how hard I tried to return to the land of sleep, I just couldn't. It was when I finally gave up on sleep that I registered another sound coming from inside my bedroom._

 _Lifting my head off of my pillow, my brown, saggy fair falling into my green eyes as I squinted over to the door, light streaming through the crack at the bottom. My Mabari War Hound, who was usually sleeping soundly in front of the fire place, was stood at attention in front of the door, his eyes glued to the wooden frame as he growled deeply and took a threatening stance._

 _"Max?" I called groggily to the Mabari, who did nothing to move from his space in front of the door. I called to my dog again, getting the same lack of attention._

 _Then I heard what had my Mabari standing guard at the door. A loud, long scream erupted from beyond the door. A woman's scream._

 _Jumping up from my bed, I stumbled to my desk where my daggers were waiting for me. Fear writhed through me as I watched the door in anticipation, not even concerned that I was in nothing but my small-clothes. What was happening out there? That scream... Oriana? Elissa?!_

 _Suddenly, before I could move, the door sprung open, one of the Castle's servants bursting through it, his face red and eyes wide. "My Lord! Help me!" the servant pleaded. "The Castle is under atta-"._

 _Much to my horror, the servant was interrupted harshly by a steel tipped arrow forcing it's way roughly through his chest. The man collapsed in from of me, his blood staining the floors as he struggled to breathe._

 _I looked from the dead corpse laying on my bedroom floor to the hallway, two armed men returning my gaze, both smirking as they began to walk toward my room. With a deep growl, Max launched himself at the first soldier, pushing him to the ground where he continued his assault. I gripping my daggers as the second man hurried toward me, most likely wanting to finish me off before Max had ripped his friend's throat out._

 _Parrying the soldier's attack easily, I knocked the long sword from his hand, sending it flying across the room. Taking the man's surprise as an advantage, I hurried forward, sinking my blade deep into his neck._

 _I watched the blood trickle down the man's throat as I withdrew my blade._

 _I felt bile move in my stomach._

 _I felt like I was going to **vomit**. _

_Sure, I'd killed things before, animals and such on various hunting trips that Father would take Fergus, Elissa and I on, but I'd never actually killed a **person** before._

 _Wiping the blood off of the blade on the bedpost, I looked over to Max, who had already taken care of the first soldier. Hearing more screams from down the hallway, I rushed to gather my clothes, slipping them on in haste before anyone else came. I needed to find my sister._

 _Dressed and armed, I slipped the daggers into their sheathes, starting off at a run out of my room._

* * *

A nudge of my hand woke me from my horrible nightmare, the face of Max the Mabari greeting me when I opened my eyes.

I blinked rapidly for a few moment, almost willing my eyes to adjust to the pitch blackness that surrounded me. I heaved for breath, the smell of hay and horses filling my nose as I properly began to wake. Max gave a small whine, nudging my hand again with his nose. I raised my hand and placed it on his head, lazily scratching him with my fingers for a few moments before he lay back down beside me in a huff.

 _"I must have been sleep-talking..."_ I thought.

Many a time during my childhood, Max would wake me whenever I had a nightmare, my mumbled sleep-talking causing him concern and he would wake me up in an instant.

Laying back down on my not-so-comfortable bed (which was actually a block of hay with some covers and a pillow on top of it), I closed my eyes again, the images of my nightmare coming back to me; the faces of my loved ones haunting me as I tossed and turned.

Mother

Father

Fergus

Oriana

 _Oren_...

My nightmare had been the same as it was nearly every night during the passed two weeks.

In my horrific dreams, I would wake up to Max growling at my bedroom door, confused. The two soldiers - _Howe's_ soldiers - would barge their way into the room, Max killing one, and I killing the other. Then, I would dress and we would run into Mother and Elissa, Mother always clad in her hunting gear, and we would run through the Castle looking for my Father, Brother, Sister-in-law and Nephew. Fergus, Orin and Oriana we would always find slain in their room, their faces lifeless and dim as they looked up at the ceiling. We would then find Father, who would order Elissa and I to run from the Castle through the escape tunnel, leaving both him and Mother to the soldier's...

Shaking my head, I sat up from my makeshift bed and stretched. I opened my eyes again, somewhat happy that I could see my surroundings a little better. The barn that Elissa and I were taking refuge in was cold, but at least it kept the rain off of us when we slept. One half of the barn was made up with farm yard animals; Horses, chickens, a cow or two, maybe. The rest was either hay or tools for the farm.

Next to me was Elissa, her hair falling across her face as she slept soundly. The sheet she was given to fight the cold had slipped down to her waist, causing her to shiver from the wind that managed to get into the barn. I reached over and grabbed the sheet, sliding it up her body until it reached her neck. The shivering stopped after a while, and she showed no signs of consciousness. If anything, she pushed her face deeper into the pillow as she continued to sleep, even though there were tiny lights of morning sunshine streaming in from the cracks in the wood.

Looking around bitterly, I gritted my teeth as the situation dawned on me, as it did every morning.

" _I am a **Noble**_! _A **Cousland**!_ " I thought in distaste. " _I shouldn't be sleeping on some Maker-damned farm, on **hay** with barely enough scrap_ _ings to survive! I should be in a Castle, or an Estate, in a warm, cosy bed with my belly filled with hot food and wine!"_

Huffing my disapproval, I stood up from my bed, being careful not to tread on Max as I passed him. I groggily made my way to the water butt sitting in the corner of the barn. Taking off the lid, I dipped my hands into the water, taking a few slow gulps for my thirst. I then refilled Max's water bowl, which looked like it had been empty for quiet a while.

I looked down at the water, to whatever reflection I could see. My hair was messy, not like the flat, brushed hair is used to be. No matter how hard I patted it, it would always go back to the messy state it was currently in. Small brown patches of mud were still littering my face, mocking me as I didn't even have _soap_ to get rid of them. Dark circles were under my eyes, caused my the lack of sleep.

I hardly recognised myself.

Shaking my head in frustration, I walked away from the water butt and back to the hay-bed, sitting down on it as I thought back on the passed two weeks.

* * *

 _Away._

 _That's what we needed to do. We needed to get away from Highever as fast as we could. At first I thought of going to the village and taking one of the horses, but the thought of running into Howe's men terrified me, so we took to the road on foot._

 _I didn't know where we were going. It was too dark to see any signs when we left, and we were too tired and **hungry** to notice when we passed them. _

_Eventually, a kind man who was travelling in a worn carriage noticed us wandering along the road, and offered to give us a ride. He shared with us what little food and water he had and allowed us to sleep in the carriage. The next day when I awoke, he told me that he was heading south from Denerim down near the Kokari Wilds. From the night that I had had, 'south' sounded like an excellent plan to me. I mentioned my plan to Elissa when she awoke, who gave me a shrug for a reply. For nearly the whole time we travelled with the kind man, she never talked. Not even to me, too in amongst her own thoughts for speech._

 _During the week that we travelled together, I came to know the man quite well. His name was Michael Hawke, and he had named his horse 'Hope'. He was travelling from Denerim to his brother's farm in a little village called Lothering, and offered to talk to his brother for Elissa and I, to see if he would allow us to stay on his farm in exchange for work. I took his offer gladly, not knowing that I'd be taking up residence in the **barn**._

 _The village itself wasn't too bad. It was quiet, which was just what we both needed. It had a small Chantry on the far side of the river, a tavern and a few inns and shops. To be truthful, it was just like any other village, only much more peaceful._

 _The Hawke family were kind enough, too._

 _Malcom Hawke and his wife, Leandra, happily took us in when they heard we were willing to work on the farm. They had three children, Marian, the eldest, and twins, Carver and Bethany._

 _Marian seemed nice enough, and had even given me a tour of the village and taught us the proper way of handling all the tools._

 _The twins, I noticed, were very... **very** different. _

_Bethany was the picture of happiness. Always smiling, always having something nice to say or talk about. She was just pleasant in general. Carver, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of his twin sister. He was quiet, and always wore a sombre or serious expression. Although, I had to hand it to him, he was good with a sword, and was a very hard worker. He had even taken me to the tavern and introduced me to a few people._

 _Needless to say, I didn't mind staying at the farm in this little village._

 _Well, that was until I saw what I would be sleeping on._

* * *

A shrill noise disrupted me from my thoughts; the crowing of a cockerel.

Not that I minded much on that morning anyway, considering I was already awake. But on nearly every morning since we had arrived, that _chicken_ would crawl from it's home in the barn to the very top of the roof and sing it's little beak off, rousing us from our slumber quickly.

Max, however, usually had a good time chasing that little beast when no one was looking.

Elissa breathed in quickly when the cockerel woke her up. It took her a few moments, but she eventually sat up in her hay-bed and gave me a look which said 'I hate that fucking chicken.'

"G'morning..." she grumbled as she wiped the sleep from her eyes.

I gave her a smile when Max trotted over to her, giving her a nudge with his nose. "Hungry?" I asked, already knowing the answer. "C'mon. Leandra should be up making breakfast by now."

Tired of my uncomfortable hay-bed, I rose to my feet and made my way outside, Max on my heels as Elissa got out of bed. We walked close together as we made our way across the farm to the little house that was the home of the Hawke family. Already I could see movement in the kitchen, likely Leandra making breakfast for everyone before they started their day.

As we had been given an open-door policy, I didn't bother knocking before I entered the house. As soon as I had stepped inside, a wall of deliciousness hit me. Breakfast was _definitely_ ready.

I shut the door behind Elissa, Max having to stay outdoors near the well, per Malcom's request. He had never let animals into the house, and he wasn't about to start because of us. We were allowed to give him a few left overs if there were any, but there was no way he was allowed in the house.

I walked down the little hallway and quickly came to the kitchen, Leandra preparing the table as we entered. Bethany was gathering cutlery ready to place on the dining table. "Morning," said the young girl, a smile, as always, lighting up her face.

"Good morning," I replied as I tried to keep out of the way of the older woman, who hurried back to preparing the meals as her young daughter set the table. "Smells good," I commented as Leandra passed me.

"Thank you, dear," she replied earnestly as she stirred the contents of a pot. Likely last night's dinner. "Now set yourselves around the table. The others should be down soon."

I let Elissa go in front of me and pick her chair first, as Father had taught me to always me a gentleman, even to my Sister. I sat beside her as she gave a long yawn, obviously still drowsy as she leaned her arms on the table, her eyes closed.

From the hallway, I could hear the door quietly being opened and closed, the faint noise of tip-toes following. It was as if someone wanted to make their presence unknown. Leaning back from the table, I looked down the hallway to see Marian, who met my gaze. She brought a finger to her lips, signalling me to be quiet.

In vain, it seemed.

"Marian!" Leandra called, and I saw the eldest Hawke daughter close her eyes and gulp. She let her head hang for a moment, then made her way to the kitchen. Leandra, who had taken her eyes off of the cooking, turned to look at her daughter. "I noticed your bed was empty last night," Leandra commented. "And this morning. Where have you been all night?"

Always a fan of gossip, I noticed Elissa open her eyes, setting herself up a bit on the table.

Ignoring her mother's gaze, Marian placed herself next to Elissa at the table, grabbing one of the slices of bread which was already laid out. "I went to the tavern," she answered honestly, although I could see she was trying very hard to keep a blush down.

Leandra made an unimpressed sound, then turned back to the cooking. "And you _slept_ there as well, did you?" From the way Marian was ignoring her Mother's words and by the way Leandra was asking the questions, something told me the older woman already knew what her daughter had been up to. It was like they were playing some unknown game to me. Whenever Elissa or I had been up to no good and my Mother or Father knew about it, they would always tell us that they knew what we were up to and chastised us for whatever it was that we had done. Not... _whatever_ Leandra was doing.

Marian grabbed the collar of her jacket and pressed it to her cheek, hiding her neck as the blush she tried to keep down came to her cheeks. "No..."

Leandra, who had now placed everything on their rightful plates, turned and placed the dishes on the table. She looked at Marian, and again, gave her a disappointed look. "Marian, you cannot cover what I have already seen," she retorted before taking her own place at the table and picking up her knife and fork.

Letting go of her collar in a huff, Marian took her own cutlery and slowly began eating. It was then that I saw what Leandra had meant. At the high point of Marian's neck, near her chin, was a red, puffed up mark; a love bite.

Realising what she had been up to, I began poking at the eggs on the plate as a silence settled over the dining table. A few moments later, the sound of heavy footsteps came down the stairs, Carver coming into the kitchen. He wore his standard working clothes, his hair messy as it always was in the morning. "Morning," he said groggily. He looked over to me, which seemed to put him in a more alert mood. "Woah," he started. "You look tired, Aedan."

I shrugged off his comment, swallowing what was in my mouth. "I didn't get what you'd call a good nights rest. Nightmares," I replied as I slide more food onto my fork, trying to ignore the way Elissa was looking at me.

"Nightmares?" Bethany asked from her side of the table. "What kind of nightmares?" I frowned slightly, looking back down to my food. I didn't really have anything against telling them, but talking about my troubles still pained me. Besides, it wouldn't do any good to tell them of mine and Elissa's Noble - well, _once_ noble status.

"Bethany!" Marian barked. Bethany sunk back into her seat and began picking at her food again, muttering a small 'sorry'. "Carver's right though, you do look tired," Marian continued. "Maybe you should go see the Revered Mother? She always makes time to talk to people who need an open-ear."

"Or just one of the Chantry Followers," Bethany added. "A lot of them are willing to listen to you if they have the time. Some of them help by talking, too," she chuckled, before adding again, "Sister Leliana helps me when I'm feeling a bit upset. She tells the _best_ stories."

"What do _you_ have to be upset about?" Carver piped up. "You're always so... _jolly_ and _happy_."

The Hawke Children continued their bickering over the rest of breakfast, Malcom coming down when everyone was nearly finished and ready for work. Throughout the remainder of the meal, however, Marian and Bethany's words were playing in my mind. ' _Maybe I **should** go to the Chantry...'_

I felt Elissa nudge my knee with hers, and I glanced over to her. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

I gave her what I hoped was a comforting smile and nodded my head, uncomfortable with the fact I had just basically _lied_ to the only family I had left in this world.

* * *

From the moment I stepped out of Michael Hawke's cart and into Lothering, I only ever really stayed at the farm, occasionally visiting the Tavern if I had a few coins to spare. And that was it. I never really went anywhere else. I never crossed the bridge that went to the far side of the village, finding no need to. I didn't feel the urge to explore my new home like Elissa did.

Of course, the fact that the Chantry was on this side of the village may have something to do with it.

Throughout our upbringing's, our Mother and Father had raised me and my sister as Andrastians. Mother told us stories of Andraste and the Makar so often that I had no choice but to memorise them word for word. Even so, I never truly believed. Not really. Whether Elissa did or not, I wasn't too sure. We never really talked about religion with each other. And now, with everything that happened at Highever, I was as far from a believer as one could get. I suppose some could say I was angry at the Chantry, to the Mother's who spread the word of the Makar, claiming that he has love for all his children.

 _Obviously **not**._

Even though my newly found dislike of the Chantry kept me away from the Holy building, my earlier conversation with Marian and Bethany kept grating on me, as well as the deaths of my family. When Howe's treachery came to my mind throughout the morning on the farm, I worked aggressively, harder than usual.

Maybe the Revered Mother could help me.

When Malcom called to us that it was time for a break, just gone noon, I decided that a trip to the Chantry couldn't hurt, especially if it would ease my mind. ' _But if she begins preaching to me, I'm getting out of there, help or not.'_

Hands stuffed into my pockets, hood up and eyes cast downward, I crossed the bridge, shoulders stiff and aching from working all morning. I had told Elissa that I would be back by the time lunch had finished, and she seemed happy enough to spend it with Marian. I clambered the steps to the Chantry's massive door, opening it with ease. I closed the door behind me before taking my hood down and glancing around. The building was fairly big, candles littering the alcoves in the walls.

I wandered along the wide entry-way, noticing with distain that the whole building look dead. There was hardly anyone here, save for a woman sitting at the far end of the building with who I assumed to be her son. They were sitting on a pew in front of wooden stage, a statue of Andraste in the middle. I walked to the area, the two not paying me any notice, as I looked around for who I was looking for. Finding no luck, I turned to the Mother and child. "Excuse me?" I asked politely, the blonde woman looking up at me when I approached her. "I don't suppose you know where I can find the Revered Mother?"

The woman shook her head before looking back down at her book, her son smiling up at me.

Sighing, I turned on heel and began walking back toward the door. Already this place was making me feel uncomfortable. A few meters away from the door, a voice called from behind me.

"Hello?"

At first I thought it was the woman reading her book. I turned, finding that it was in fact someone else; another woman. She was garbed in Chantry Robes, a closed book in her hands as she came towards me.

' _Woah...'_ I thought. ' _She's... woah...'_

Maker, she was _beautiful..._

She was relatively tall and had a medium build, the Robes coming nicely over her body. She had a petite nose, her lips full with a red that I couldn't describe. Luscious would be an accurate word. Her blue eyes held the deepness of oceans behind them, and her red, fiery hair came to her shoulders. "You said you were looking for the Revered Mother? I can take you to her, if you'd like?" she said, her _Orlesian_ accent filling my ears.

However, the longer I gazed at this red-headed beauty, I more I felt waves of sadness hit me. It was as though someone had punched me in the chest, winding me. That's what it felt like, anyway, as I struggled to breathe. ' _Red hair... Oren..."_ I thought, tears coming betrayingly to my eyes as I thought of my nephew. "Uhh," I stuttered, my eyes straying quickly from the Chantry Sister. "I'm terribly sorry... I - uhh..."

The Sister looked at me with great concern, looking around the room for anyone else. It was only me, her and the Mother and child up the other end. She gave me a comforting smile before placing a hand on my shoulder and guiding me toward one of the seats by the wall. We sat together in silence for a long while as I tried to catch my breath and compose myself.

I took a deep breath and straightened out, not yet willing to look over to her. _'I have such a way with women...'_ I thought, chastising myself. I didn't need to _cry_.

Crying was for the weak.

It left people vulnerable.

"I'm sorry," I said to the Sister. "I didn't mean to get like that."

 _''I didn't mean to get like that'? Seriously, Aedan? Who means to 'get like that'? Idiot...'_

"It's not a problem," the Orlesian woman said, patting me on the shoulder. "Everyone needs to let it out sometimes. I like to think that it is our emotions that make us human." She took her hand from my shoulder as she sat down beside me. "Allow me to introduce myself; I am Leliana. I'm a lay Sister here."

 _'Leliana? The name fits the face...'_

"Aedan," I replied, giving her as much of a smile as I could as I shook her soft, small hand.

"Aedan?" she asked. "The young man who moved in with the Hawke's a few weeks ago?"

I gave a small chuckle. Did _everyone_ know that? "Yeah, that's me."

"I see..." she muttered before picking up her gorgeous voice again. She gave me a teasing nudge and giggled. "So you're the 'handsome, muscular man' that Bethany told me of?"

My eyes widened in shock as I turned to look at Leliana, surprise evident on my face. "Bethany said that?" I asked, not believing her words.

Leliana nodded as I watched her smile. "Mhmm. She seems quite taken with you, in fact. I could go into detail with some of the secrets she told me, but I think I would qualify it as 'girl talk'. Sorry," she laughed again.

' _Her laugh is so pretty... what is wrong with me?'_

I shook my head, muttering a quick 'don't worry about it', and then we fell into a silence, leaving me with my thoughts and leaving her... to do think about whatever she was thinking about. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, and I think she could tell that I greatly appreciated the company.

After a while, she broke the silence with a story, which led to another story, and then another, my interest deepening each time. She had a voice that anyone could listen to, and it made following her stories so much easier.

After, we chatted for a little while, and she told me a little of her background, her being born and raised in Orlais, but considering herself Fereldan because of her Mother. I told her as little as I could, not wanted to let slip of my Noble birth. It was just so... _easy_ to talk with her. The only things she really knew about me by the end of our chat was that I had a sister and we lived in Highever for a time before moving south.

Leliana and I sat there for a full two hours just talking and enjoying each other's company whilst the Chantry folk and villagers walked past us. By the time I realised that my lunch hour was over by thirty minutes, I gave her a brief apology, telling her that I had to return to the farm.

"Hey, listen..." I muttered, my hand going to the back of my neck. "I'm really sorry about earlier; about breaking down. It's just that... your hair... it's the same colour as my nephew's and my sister-in-law's... and uhh... they died a little while ago. So you kind of... reminded me of them, I guess..."

"Ah," Leliana said, her smile diminishing somewhat. "My condolences. You must have loved them very much." I nodded my head, looking down at the floor. "Although I won't apologize for my hair," she said in a joking manner.

"Don't be," I replied, smiling once again. "It's lovely." She rose an eyebrow at me as she cocked her head and smiled wider, causing a small blush to creep up my neck as I realised the compliment I had given her.

 _'Did she take that as flirting?... **was** I flirting?'_

I gave the mix of an awkward cough and a laugh as I turned to the door again, sending a glace to her over my shoulder. "I'll see you around, Leliana," I said in farewell.

"Good day, Aedan," she called as I stepped through the door.

As I walked back towards the farm, my hands coming into my pockets as I walked, I gave a small smirk as I went on my way. I felt a lot more... refreshed, lighter even. Something told me that I'd be seeing a lot more of Leliana, and _soon._

 _Hopefully._

* * *

 _Well, that's chapter one done._

 _A big thanks to anyone who clicked on this story, and to those who may wish to follow it, favourite, or leave a review ;)_

 _This story was a prompt given to me by movienut96. Thank a lot, and I hope you enjoy :D_

 _~RJay_


	2. Chapter 2

_As I was roused from my refreshing sleep, the first thing that I could hear were the waves. The simple, soothing waves that rippled around me. The bed I was on gave a slow rocking motion in time with the sound, and I winced my eyes open in confusion._

 _'Ah, yes,' I thought drowsily. 'I remember now.'_

 _I smirked, rubbing my eyes with my hand as I yarned. I sat up in my comfortable bed, the sheet that was keeping me warm falling to pool at my waist._

 _My... very **naked** waist, I noticed. _

_I looked around at my surroundings, the dim light allowing me to see the cabin that I was sleeping in, and I noticed Max snoring quietly at the side of my bed. 'Strange,' I thought. 'He doesn't usually sleep too well when we're out at sea...'_

 _A loud bang on the ceiling interrupted my train of thought, and I jumped in my bed and looked up. It sounded as though something had been dropped. My suspicions were confirmed when I heard, " **Bon sang**!" shortly after._

 _I let out a chuckle, laying back down on the bed as I began to relax again._

 _'Clumsy woman...'_

 _I breathed in a lungful of sea-salted air, allowing the continuous rocking motion of the boat lull me back to sleep._

 _Well, as near as it could, anyway, as I was rudely interrupted._

 _"What were you laughing at?" came a teasing, **gorgeous** voice. "Dropping a pale of _drinkable _water is comical now, is it?"_

 _I opened my eyes, allowing myself to adjust to the light once again. In the stairway which led to the small deck of our little boat stood Leliana, her red, long hair spilling over her shoulders as she put a hand on her hip._

 _She looked so beautiful in that light... **every** light..._

 _Leliana cocked her head at me in waiting, watching me with a sly smile when she saw what state of dress I was in. "Well, oh Mister Comedian?" she encouraged in finality._

 _I leaned up on my elbow and stretched a little, giving another yawn. "Nothing funny at all, Milady," I answered. "Just wondering how someone as dexterous as you would drop a bucket."_

 _Her smile increased in it's playfulness as the sheet that covered me fell lower, allowing the outline of **everything** show through the material. Placing both hand on her waist, she began walking towards me, adding an extra sway to her hips as she came closer. The hand on her right hip left it's home and came to my shoulder, giving me a tiny shove to send me back down onto the bed. She carefully stepped over Max and knelt on the bed, torturously dragging her other hand up my firm stomach, her fingers going into every hard edge that I had on display. _

_Finally, she placed both hands on the pillow, one each side of my head to pin me down as she brought one leg over my body to the other side; she was straddling me. The thought sent a jolt right to my groin, awakening the manhood that slept there little by little. "Careful," I warned, letting my hand crawl up her legs to rest at her hips."You don't want to let the tiger out of his cage. He might just **eat you up**..."_

 _She giggled heartily at my attempt of flirting, trailing one hand over my cheek as the other inched toward my waist, her fingers dancing over my groin. I gritted my teeth to stop a groan as I increased my grip on her hips. She dipped her head towards mind, her lips going to my ear. "Promises, promises," she whispered to me, applying a small amount of pressure to my manhood as she gave the edge of my ear a lick. I felt myself pulse with need as she took her hand away, this... **tease** of a woman smiling down at me seductively._

 _I pushed myself up, making her into fall to my lap when I settled in a sitting position. Leliana's hands came to my hair, running through it until she found a good amount to grip. Her smile only grew as she felt me dig into her behind, and she ground down on me._ **Hard** _._

 _"Je peux te sentir à travers la feuille..." she whispered into my ear again, grinding down onto me again. "Vous êtes si fort , mon amour..."._

 _My breath sped up in anticipation, and my arms snaked their way tightly around her waist. 'Witch...' I thought desperatly. 'She knows I love it when she speaks her own tongue...'_

 _She pulled away from my ear and placed one of her hands on my cheek as she pressed our foreheads together. "Permettez-moi de prendre soin de vous..." she whispered one more time, her fingers going to the edge of the sheet. As she began to pull the material away, she sat up a little, bringing our faces closer together, our lips getting closer and closer, until..._

 _Until..._

* * *

"Wake up! _"_

My eyes opened wide, my chest heaving for air as I panted heavily. I blinked several times before I realised where I was. I was back in Lothering, in the barn, sleeping on the hay-bed that I was given two weeks ago after I arrived. And Elissa was standing over me, her arms crossed as she smiled down at me in amusement.

' _It was a dream...'_ I thought in utter disappointment.

"Ahem," Elissa coughed, bringing my distraught attention back to her. "You slept through the cockerel. I thought you needed a few extra minutes kip, but it seems I should have woken you earlier," she said, her voice dripping in a teasing manor.

My stomach dropped. I _knew_ that voice.

Knew it with a vengeance.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, swinging my legs over the hay-bed, only to realise at the last second that it was a bad idea. I gave a small whimper at the friction in my pants, realising that... _that_ was what Elissa was teasing me about. My face went red with embarrassment as I leaned forward, my arms covering my groin as she chuckled.

Elissa began to walk away from me and made her way toward the barn door. "I suggest, Big Brother," she called over her shoulder. "That you get your _little problem_ seen to before all the food is cold."

With nothing more said, she opened the barn door, Max following her out, and closed it firmly behind them.

* * *

Throughout the entire day, all I could think about was my dream.

Not the details of the dream. No. I feared that if I thought about _them_ too much I wouldn't get any work done at all. What concerned me was what had caused me to the dream it in the first place.

During my years as a Noble, I had encountered many beautiful young women. Some of which I had tried to court, a few of them I did _._ But I never lusted over them. I admired their beauty, their intelligence and their mannerism. Lusting and drooling over the countless women that entered the castle was Fergus' job. Up until he found himself a wife, that is.

Father had always taught me that women were not prizes to be won, and that a Noblewoman should be treated with the same respect as a Nobleman. He taught me that I should try to capture a woman's heart before claiming her body.

What I had dreamed of last night goes against everything my Father showed me.

A part of me felt guilty. There I was, a young man of nineteen, fantasising and dreaming about a woman I had met the **_day after I met her_**. It wasn't honourable and it didn't do any right by her. It was during the time I was planting new crops in the ground that I decided I wouldn't go to the Chantry again. Seeing her would only provoke these thoughts.

So why, _oh why_ , was I walking over the bridge to the building later on that day after work? Because there I was, a young man of nineteen, fantasising and dreaming about a woman I had met the day after I met her.

Simple as that .

I just wanted to see her again, never mind the lustful dreams that may have come after.

I opened the door to the Chantry, noticing that there were a lot more people present than yesterday. Mainly Brother's and Sister's, who were surrounding the many bookcases that littered the halls. Some were sat reading whilst others were browsing the books. As I searched, however, I began to notice that Leliana was not amongst the Chantry folk.

Passing one of the older women, I asked, "Excuse me? Would you know where I can find Sister Leliana?"

The woman regarded me with a kind smile. "That girl hardly ever leaves the Chantry, dear boy," she said, then turning to one of the doors at the back of the building. "She sometimes goes out in the garden. Feel free to check, if you must. Do try not to ruin the flowers, my dear."

"Thank you, miss," I said, passing her to head for the door. Many of the Chantry followers paused what they were doing to watch me, and I quickly felt uncomfortable at the sudden attention. Was I not supposed to go out to the gardens? Why was everyone staring at me?

Ignoring the icy chill that sped down my spine, I opened the door the woman had pointed to, which led to a small hallway. I walked to the end, all the rest of the doors being closed, but the one at the end of the corridor lay ajar, light streaming into the damp hallway. As I got closer to the door, I began to smell the freshness of grass and the florescent scent of flowers.

It was only for a moment, but I felt like I was back home in Highever, coming into the gardens to find my mother on her knees in the dirt, digging a small hole so she could plant a new flower. Oh, that garden was her pleasure. I had never met anyone with the same love for plant life as she.

As I came closer to the gardens, I also began to hear something; a small humming. Sensing some familiarity to the voice, I peeked around the corner, the humming becoming more clear to me.

The garden was fairly small, about the same size as a standard bedroom. Rows and rows of multi-coloured flowers greeted me as I stepped out onto the cobblestone path, a small pond in the middle of the greenery. It was near the pond where I saw Leliana, her short red hair cascading around her neck. She was humming that small tune, her fingers going to the edge of the water, allowing the fish to take whatever food she was giving. Bread, I think.

When I saw her, my heart began to quicken again, thoughts of my dream coming to mind. ' _Oh no… not **now** …"_

Taking a sharp breath as I began to walk toward her, I tried to rid my mind of those dishonourable thoughts.

Leliana seemed to not hear me coming, too intranced with feeding the fish and humming to herself. Before I could get lost in the tune she was singing, I stopped a little bit away from her. "You have a lovely singing voice," I announced.

Leliana stopped suddenly, whipping her head around to peer up at me. She had a look of practised calm, but alertness, on her face, but when she was it was me, she gave a smile and looked back down to the fish, giving them more bread. From where I was stood, I saw little of how her face reddened, but I saw it none the less, causing a small amount of pride to blossom in my chest. "Thank you," she replied, sitting more upright. "Come, sit," she added. "There's plently of room here for the both of us."

 _'Hopefully not too much room…'_

I set myself down next to her, marvelling at how soft the grass felt under my fingers. I glided my hand across it, listening as Leliana started her humming again. I faintly recognised the song, but couldn't quite but my finger on what it was. We sat there in a comfortable atmosphere as she continued feeding the fish.

Once the plate the bread sat on was empty, she withdrew her hand from the pond, slowing her humming until it came to a complete stop. She gave a sigh, placing her hands in her lap. "You know, I think I prefer the gardens to any other place in Lothering," she commented, looking around at the colourful flowers. Her eyes settled on me, and she continued. "They're just so peaceful, so quiet. It's the perfect place to go to if I need to think."

I frowned, listening to her talk. She sounded… dejected.

"Is everything alright?" I asked. She looked back down to the pond, and I realised that I may have been a bit too forward. I coughed, starting again. "I know we haven't known each other long, but you can tell me if something is bothering you. I know how to keep a secret."

Hesitantly, she looked back up to me, telling me everything I needed to know. There _was_ something wrong. It was a great shame to see that her eyes held such heaviness in them.

A few moments later, she let out another sigh, adopting a smile which didn't quite reach her eyes. "It matters not, Aedan," she said. "I'm just tired. Nothing more." She didn't bother checking to see if I had believed her lie or not, before laying down a little bit on the grass. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company again?" she asked.

I chuckled, bringing my hands together to fiddle with them. "You don't owe anything," I replied, fidgeting with my finger nails. "Maybe I just came her to see you again."

"Ahhh," she nodded her head. "You came all the way over here from the farm so we could talk about the gardens," she joked. "Everyone needs a hobby, I suppose. I prefer talking about shoes, though if I'm perfectly honest. Living in Orlais with the ridicoulous fashion trends was all worth it for the _shoes_."

"Were the shoes ridicoulous too, then?" I asked, turning to look down to her.

"Sometimes. When I left, the trend for shoes were delicate tapered heels, and embellishments in the front; a ribbon, perhaps. They were in soft colours, of course, as it was spring."

"Must have costed a lot of gold," I replied thoughtfully.

"Depending on the shoe maker," she said, reminising. "I had my eye on a pair my own shoe maker was working on. They were covered in pale blue silk, with amber beads on the toe." She gave a happy sigh, then looked down at her footwear. "Not at all like these clunky, fur-lined leather boots you have in Fereldan. Just look at them! Urgh!"

"The ones we have here are very clunky," I agreed with a chuckle, looking down at my own boots. "Orlais seems like an interesting country."

"It has its ups and down's, much like any other country," she nodded. "Sometimes I miss it, but honestly, I am glad to be rid of it. Oh, I could talk about Val Rouyeux for _hours_."

 _'That doesn't sound... too bad?'_ I thought to myself.

It was in that moment when I realised that I really _really_ had it in for this woman. I was willing - no, no, _wanting_ \- to listen to this gorgeous woman talking for hours on end. About _shoes._ Even knowing her for such little time as I did, she was just such a pleaure to be around. Somewhere in my mind, I knew that if I was given the chance, I would fall for this woman - **hard**.

Taking a silent, short breath, I gathered as much courage as I could, and looked over to her. "How about we go for a walk, and you can talk about Orlais and shoes for as long as you want."

Whatever courage I had mustered seemed to disappear in the lengthy silence that followed. Her eyes stayed fixed to the pond, my nervousness growing as the moments went by. My embarrassment began to settle in, my heart dropping into my stomach. ' _Oh, why did I have to say that?"_

During the silence, I felt the unmistakable feeling of a blush creep up to my ears. I was waiting for her to decline, which is what always followed after saying something like that. My face must have looked like a tomato with how badly I was flushed. The least I could have done in that situation was scrap up whatever dignity I had left.

I decided to give her an easy way out, the sting of rejection becoming very uncomfortable. "Unless, you know, you're busy with your own things..." I muttered, picking the grass at my foot.

Leliana looked back up to me gingerly, then looked back down to the grass. Finally, with a smile, she glanced back up to me and said, "Alright. Do you want to go now?"

I rose my eyebrows in surprise, my eyes a little wide from the shock. I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding in, fighting back a smile as my heart galloped. "Uh, yeah, I'm good with going now."

Every negative emotion that I'd felt moments earlier had vanished, now replaced with a childish giddiness that was difficult to contain. I'm sure she noticed, too, as she gave a light chuckle. She reaching over for the empty plate before standing up with me, the pair of us heading towards the main building of the Chantry.

* * *

If I was to say that I had a set destination planned for where we were walking to, I'd be completely lying. As soon as we left the Chantry, I picked a direction and walked, the both of us politely greeting anyone who we passed. We came into idle chitchat as we crossed the bridge, mainly about how I was settling into Lothering and what living with the Hawke family was like.

To be honest, I don't think she had a destination planned, either.

As we passed by the Tavern, I saw Elissa go through the door, Marian following closely behind her. I saw no sign of Max, so I assumed that he was asleep in the barn or pestering the chickens.

For a moment, I thought of going into the Tavern as well, to introducing Leliana to my sister. After a few seconds though, I decided against the idea. I knew that during our upbringing, Elissa had always been seen as a third son by our father, and as mother was usually busy, it didn't allowing her much time to be a _girl_ , as she was always surrounded by men and, naturally, grew up as one. A part of me would have felt wrong if I were to take any 'Girl time' away from her now.

Even though she wouldn't meet Elissa that day, it didn't stop me from introducing her to different member of my family.

By the time I said to stop walking, we were halfway between the lake and the barn. She looked at me in suspicion, and I grinned. "Watch," I told her, turning back to the barn. I brought my finger and thumb to my mouth, making sure they were lodged under my tongue before I blew sharply. My whistle, I'm sure, could be heard all through Lothering, and it was definitely enough to wake my sleeping Mabari.

Leliana glanced at me in confusion, watching me as I waited.

And then I heard it. The panting and thundering paw-steps of a War Hound.

Max came racing out from the Barn, his tongue flailing around as he ran. He ran towards a nearby hill, stopping dead in his track when he reached the top. He stood up straight on all for paws, his ears pointing to the sky as his eyes scanned the area. His gaze fell on me, and I broke into a grin when he barked. Like before, he began racing towards me at full speed, his tongue back out and flying around. I crouched slightly as he came nearer, and I took delight in hearing Leliana giggle as she realised what was happening.

However, my delight didn't last. As Max grew closer and closer, I made a realisation myself; he wasn't slowing down.

 _'Oh no...'_ I thought, a little too late.

Before I could move, Max had made his way to me, using his great body weight to bowl me over. I fell onto my back, grunting as I landed in discomfort. Using his long, _wet_ tongue, Max insistently licked my face, causing more discomfort. As my dog continued his assault, I could vaguely hear Leliana, who was stood beside me, laughing her robes off as she watched Max's display of affection. "Max!" I exclaimed, trying to push back with my arms. "Max, enough! Stop it!"

Finally, he gave one final lick to my right cheek, a sniff to my hair, and backed off. I tried to get as much of the slobber off as I could with my sleve, but eventually both got too damp that the wetness would only spread. Groaning, I got myself to my feet, and looked down at Max when I was finished, who looked up at me with what I could only describe as a smirk as he wagged his small tail.

"Oh, he's adorable!" Leliana said after she finished laughing. She walked toward Max, letting him sniff her first before she began to pet him. Soon, he pushed her hand away, leaning forward to nudge her arm. "He's nuzzling me," she continued, giving off another giggle.

"You know, 'adorable' isn't what people usually call his breed of dog," I commented, the wetness on my face beginning to really annoy me. As we were on the way to the lake, I quickly decided that my hair and face could use a rinse.

"Now that's just silly," Leliana replied, scratching Max behind his ears. "Look at him!"

We continued walking to the lake, Max trotting beside Leliana as we went.

' _Traitor...'_ I thought, shaking my head in amusement. ' _No one would have guessed that **you** are a fierce, aggressive Mabari War Dog, like everyone makes you out to be.' _

When I reached the water, I quickly dove my hands under the surface, cupping my hands to bring the water to my face. I watched my reflection in the water when it stilled, and tried in vain to flatten my always messy hair.

Giving up when it refused to stay down, I sighed and turned away from the water. Leliana had sat down on the grass, Max laying down beside her as she continued to pet him. She was once again quietly humming to herself, and I took a few moment to enjoy the soothing melody she was singing. After a little while, she looked up at me, giving me a smile when she saw that I was staring. "I wasn't lying earlier," I announced, moving to sit next to her. "You have a talented voice."

She chuckled then glanced out to the lake, where a mother duck and her chicks were making their way to a grassy patch a little way away from us. "I should hope so, too," she replied. "Considering I spent most of my adult life performing in taverns all over Orlais."

This caught me by surprise.

From what I'd heard, singers in Orlais were always quite well off when it came to money, especially those who were talented with their voice, who knew their songs inside and out and hit every note without fail. If Leliana was as good a singer as I thought she would be, why would she leave a life like that? And come _here_ , of all places, to become a Chantry Sister?

"I didn't know you were a singer," I expressed.

"Why would you?" she answered, taking her eyes from the ducks. "I never said that I was. And I was more of a minstrel, really. Singers generally only write a song or two, and sing songs that they know. Minstrels are more storytellers than singers."

She didn't seem like the entertainer type, to be perfectly honest. I knew from her stories that she was experienced in telling them, but not as a career. "Seems like an exciting life," I commented, reaching over to run my hand along my dog's coat.

"Oh, it was," she said, her voice gentle as she began to reminisce. "I performed for people, and they rewarded me with applause and coin."

"Sounds like an amazing choice of career, if you have the right set of mind," I said. "But still, going from a life of entertainment to becoming a Sister of the Chantry? Sounds like a big step to me."

As soon as I saw the look she gave me after the words had left my mouth, I searched through what I had said, wondering if I had been too forward, or mentioned something inappropriate. She looked back over to the ducks, choosing her words carefully. She looked… disconnected, sad even. I searched harder for something I could say to make her happy again.

One thing I had learnt that night was that a frown should _never_ be worn on her angelic face. **Ever.**

Eventually, she began to speak again, causing me to let out a small sigh of relief. "The excitement of the life wore off quickly, I'm afraid. I… found myself in Fereldan, and sought shelter from bad weather in the Chantry. When the storm eventually passed, I just simply didn't want to leave," she admitted, her hands fidgeting in her lap as she explained. "The Chantry offered succour, and a peacefulness I hadn't known before. It protected me from the harshness of the world. As a matter of fact, I don't even want to leave now."

As I listened to her explanation, I slowly began to peace together what was wrong. Whatever had happened in Orlais, it had made her terrified. Even then, I could see it in her eyes, hiding behind the ocean blue. It hurt to think that she had been through so much as to make her leave her home.

Reaching over, I gingerly placed my hand over hers. She gave a little judder from the sudden contact, but made no move to pull away, only smiled up at me in thanks. I ran my thumb over her knuckles, and we fell into a silence.

I wish I'd told her I'd protect her from whatever was scaring her. That I would always be there to protect her from the storm that haunted her, and that she could always come to me if she needed to. But I felt that would have been a _tad_ too inappropriat. There was a lot more to her story than she let on, of that I was certain. But if she didn't wish to tell that particular tale, I wouldn't pry.

After a while, she pulled her hand back, bringing it up to her hair so she could brush some of the fiery locks back behind her ear. "So," she said, starting on a new slate. "What's your story?"

"My story?"

Leliana shrugged. "You've only been here for a few weeks, so I've heard. You mentioned that you moved here with your sister, but not much else."

"There – uhh," I stuttered, before scratching the back of my head. I wanted to tell her the truth, that Elissa and I were looking for shelter of our own, after what happened at the castle. But my mind kept warding it off, telling me that letting her know of my Noble origins would only complicate things.

What's in the past should stay in the past.

"There isn't that much more to tell, really. Elissa and I grew up on a farm in Highever, until the Teyrn decided he was in need of a few able-bodied servants. Father had us go to the castle immediately, and we lived there for a time when the Teyrn thought we would be of use. It wasn't all that bad, to be honest. We were fed, the money we earned went to our parents, and we had warm beds." I paused for a little while, trying to think of anything else that could fuel my lie.

"The one thing I miss about living there would have to be the sunset," I continued. Leliana gave a look of surprise, and urged me to go on. "The room which we were given had a complete view of the village, and when sunset began it would illuminate all the houses and trees. When the sun went down, the buildings were always lit up by candles or lamps, and it made the village look like it was made up of hundreds of little fireflies. It was quite a sight."

"I can imagine," she replied, as if trying to picture what it looked like in her head. "Seems like a dream come true for any normal farm-folk. What made you leave?"

 _'Oh great, more lies…'_

"I… there was a… _mishap_ , throughout the village and the castle," I told her, quickly piecing up a story together. "Elissa and I ran to the farm, but when we arrived our parents were dead, as was everyone else who lived there."

"Maker…" Leliana muttered. "I'm sorry, truly. I shouldn't have pried."

"It's alright," I replied, shaking off her apology. "It doesn't bother me that much anymore. I have things to keep me… distracted, I suppose."

Of course, I had meant that to mean _her_ being the lovely distraction, but I hadn't thought she'd catch on. By the way her gaze reached mine, I think she may have understood the double meaning.

"Anyways," I coughed again, continuing. "We couldn't go back to the Castle, so we left the village all together. We planned to get to the nearest town and settle down for a bit, but a man named Michael passed us with a cart. He said if we needed to go south, he would let us tag along. After the night we'd had, coming down here sounded like a good idea.

"A week later, we arrived here and the Hawke's took us in," I ended. "And that's us, I suppose. Not much else to it really, other than settling down in Lothering and working."

Leliana regarded me with a sad expression, her eyes full of the sympathy I didn't want. She placed her hand on my shoulder in the most comforting way, similar to how she had when I broke down in front of her the day before. "You and your sister have felt a tragic loss. I can only imagine how she feels about the whole thing. The important part is that you both still have each other, and you know you can always come to me if you need to talk, yes?" she told me sincerely.

There was silence between us for a good, long moment, and her hand on my shoulder tightened.

 _'How does this woman know exactly what to say?'_

We chatted for a little while longer, mainly swapping stories about our childhoods. She told me a little more of Lady Cecile, and some of her more interesting tales from when she was a minstrel. She even told me that she was twenty-nine summers, which shocked me quite a bit. She certainly didn't look twenty-nine.

As the hours went on, neither of us realised the dark cloud that began to make it's way over Lothering. We continued to be ignorant of the weather until I felt the first drop of rain fall onto my cheek.

"I didn't realise we've been out here for so long," she said as we both stood from the grass, rousing Max from his sleep as we got up.

"I guess time flies when you're having fun," I said with a smile, stretching my leg before I began to walk towards the Chantry. Even though I hadn't said it outright, I had hoped she had taken what I said as a suggestion that I really enjoyed her company. She seemed to have gotten the hint as she glanced up at me as we got closer to the bridge, smiling and nodding in agreement.

By the time we had gotten to the river that split Lothering in two, the rain got heavier, coming down more frequently rather than a few droplets. Leliana gave a small giggle as she picked up the pace, urging me to catch up. We were soon running towards the Chantry, eager to get out of the rain.

Leliana and I quickly came to the Chantry door. A part of me happy as I was allowed to take shelter from the increasingly heavy rain, as there was a long, roof like wooden piece sitting above the entrance of the building. The other part of me, however, was saddened at the thought that this was where me and this beautiful woman would part ways. I wanted to say something,to tell her that I had a nice time, but nothing came.

I cursed inwardly when she put a hand on the door, ready to step inside.

Leliana turned around, her eyes meeting mine as we stood together in silence. She looked down at her feet, a smile gracing her lips when she looked back up at me. "Thank you for inviting me out today," she said, her hand going up to put a few strands of hair back behind her ear. "I wasn't..." she mumbled in a small voice, but cut herself off as she gazed down to her feet again, her smile gone, now replaced with a frown. "I wasn't having the best start to the day," she told me, her eyes glued to the ground. She paused for a moment, then glanced up at me with a tiny smile. "Thank you for making it better."

I felt myself blush heatedly at her words, at the knowledge that it was _me_ that had caused her day to brighten so much, that made her feel better. Honestly, I felt my pride swell, and it just gave me a _good_ feeling. Before I could register what she was doing, she stepped forward, placing a hand on my shoulder as she leaned up, her face inching towards mine before she placed her lips on my cheek.

We stood there for a long while, my heart galloping as I realised what she was doing. She didn't pull away immediately, and we stood there in silence as she placed the kiss on my cheek. Her petite nose was just below my ear, and I forced down a shiver as I felt her breathe down my neck.

Leliana pulled away all too soon for my liking, stepping away from me as the kiss ended. She gave me a somewhat shy smile as she released my shoulder, and turned back to the door. Before she could step through, she looked back to me, her smile more broad. "I'll see you soon?"

Still a little stunned, I coughed, getting my voice back as I savoured the sensationaltingle on my cheek. "Uh - yeah," I said, not even concerned that my voice broke a little. I coughed again and chuckled. "Maybe... _tomorrow_ soon? Maybe?" I continued, noticing the way her eyes brightened as I rambled. "If you'd like?"

She nodded, giving me a toothy smile. "Goodnight, Aedan," she said in farewell before turning a final time and went through the door, closing it gently behind her.

I'm not sure how long I was stood there, but if I had to guess I'd say it was about five minutes. Throughout the entire time, the tingling on my cheek never died down, and I slowly felt a smile stretch on my lips. _'She kissed me...'_

I started walking back over to the barn, not even worried that the rain was battering down on my already soaking hair. I was grinning like an idiot all the way back, lightly kicking any stones that were on the path. I knew that I was acting like a love-sick puppy, but at least I was a _happy_ love-sick puppy. I was a happy love-sick puppy who was getting soaked through to his socks and smalls.

I got to the barn a few minutes later, shutting the door quickly behind me to stop the bad weather coming in. The whole barn was lit up, at it was every night, by a medium sized fire sat near mine and Elissa's hey-beds. Max, who was laying down by the fire, rose his head to look who had just come in. Seeing that it was me, he laid his head back down on the ground before snorting out a loud breath. Taking note that Elissa herself wasn't in the barn, I took the opportunity to hastily change into some different clothes.

By the time Elissa had come back into the barn, I was changed into a dry set of clothing, sat near the fire to keep warm and to try my wet clothes.

"Hey," she greeted, coming to sit next to me. She took my work trousers and, realising how wet they were, placed them on her legs near the fire. "There's some meat on your bed," she continued, adjusting her legs so the leg-wear could get as much heat as possible. "You missed dinner, but Leandra spared you some food."

I looked over to my bed, my stomach approving when I saw the big slab of leftovers. I put the shirt I was drying down for a moment before getting up and going towards my dinner. I'd been so preoccupied all day I didn't even realise I was hungry. "Where have you been all day, anyway?" she asked. "Me and Marian went out to look for you when Leandra called, but we couldn't find you."

"Near the lake," I replied, taking a bite. I chewed, savouring the taste before swallowing. "I was with one of the Chantry Sisters." I took another bite. "Bethany mentioned her; Leliana." I smiled slightly when I uttered her name, but forced it down quickly so Elissa wouldn't see.

"So you took their advice then?" Elissa asked. "About going to the Chantry?" I nodded as I chewed through the meat, remembering Marian and Bethany telling me that there were always people at the Chantry to help. "Good," she added, smiling up at me. "You're feeling better then?"

I froze before I took another chomp of my dinner. Now that she mentioned it, I _did_ feel better. I felt lighter than I had in months, like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I'd only known her for a day, but I knew this was due to seeing Leliana. Talking about it with her was so... relieving, and refreshing. I was sure that if I had talked out my concerns with any other Brother or Sister, or even the Revered Mother, I wouldn't feel as good as I did now.

Smiling, I nodded slowly. "Yeah," I replied. "I feel good. Really good."


	3. Chapter 3

_Without even opening my eyes, I knew that it was very early in the morning. Some type of small bird was chirping just outside my bedroom window, the air was cool enough to make me shiver if it wasn't for the sheets that were keeping me warm, and my legs felt cramped, as they always did after a night of not being used._

 _Yawning, I squinted my eyes open, letting myself adjust to the light before fully opening my eyes. I was in my bedroom in Highever, the flames of the nearby fire long since extinguished, Max laying close to the fireplace as he snored quietly. Every so often he would move his paws in a short, swift running motion, letting me know that he was dreaming, and that he wasn't about to wake up anytime soon._

 _Breathing in a lungful of air, I yawned again as I attempted to stretch. As I did, however, I found that I had very limited space to do so. Frowning, I opened my eyes again, my tired gaze coming to the woman who I was sharing my bed with. Smiling as I remembered our…_ _ **eventful**_ _night, I lost interest in my morning stretch as I tightened my arms around the red-head in front of me, diving my nose into her hair as I got comfortable again._

' _Honeycomb…' I thought as I breathed in the scent. 'It always smells like honeycomb…'_

 _I stayed there in my bed for a good few minutes, just enjoying the feeling of her in my arms. She fitted into them perfectly, like we were two puzzle pieces from the same picture. The red-head slept soundly, her head resting on my forearm as I spooned her from behind, my other arm encircled around her stomach loosely, gently cupping her limp hand._

 _Giving her bare shoulder a quick kiss, I detangled myself from her body, finding it slightly difficult to remove my arm from underneath her resting head. I stood up from the bed once I was free, immediately stretching as the sun hit my body. Noticing my pants sprawled across the floor, I lazily bent down to pick them up and slid them on when I had them the right way around. With a grin, I noticed with amusement the small rip near the zipper, which Leliana had caused in her eagerness._

 _Satisfied that I would be warm enough to go out in the outdoors, I stepped away from the bed, watching as Leliana turned over in her sleep. The light streamed into the room, hitting her delicious - **covered** \- body, effectively lighting her up. Her hair seemed to glow a more prominent red, making her look like a goddess as her locks splayed out over the pillow. Her legs stuck out from the bottom of the blanket that was covering her, both of them long and smooth as they lay on the bed. I was half tempted to jump back into bed with her, to slip her back into my arms and get back to sleep, but was able to resist to urge. Giving her one last glance, I turned to the open balcony doors._

 _The full coldness of the air hit me when I stepped outside, goose bumps rippling up my arm as I put my hands on to the stone railing. Where it was true that the sunset made the village look amazing, the sun rise itself was always quite a sight, the shadows ranging from the time of morning._

 _I leaned on the railing, getting a breath of fresh air as little birds and pigeons flapped through the sky looking for food. One of them landed near me on the railing before jumping down onto the stone floor, hopping over to a nest nearby. There was a twittering of chicks as they sensed their mother approaching, and they all opened their beaks for the food they were to be given._

" _Aedan?" I heard from inside. I smiled at how groggy the voice sounded before pushing myself off the railing, glancing one more time at the nest before turning around and walking back inside. Leliana was still laying in bed, now turned onto her stomach. In my absence, the blanket that was covering her torso and shoulders had fallen to her waist, making it so that only her lower body was now covered, and her upper was happily on show. She leaned upon her elbows and gave me a sultry smile, using one arm so cover her bare breasts from my view. She gave me a lazy glance the stuck her free hand out, urging me back into bed._

 _Needing no further encouragement, I stepped over the odd shirt and small-clothes on the floor to reach the bed, kneeling on it first before taking her hand in mine, marvelling at how warm her and small her hand was compared to my own. Giggling that adorable giggle, she pulled me closer as she turning over quickly, pulling me on top of her to cover herself. As she kissed my neck, I ran my hand down her side and over her curvy hip. "Mon amour…" she groaned against my ear as my hand dipped down, coming into contact with the blanket._

 _I wanted rid of it._

 _I_ _enjoyed the feeling of her skin, so smooth and flawless against my own, more rugged and hard compared to hers._

 _Her lips moved to my cheek as her left hand ran through my hair whilst her other moved to grip around my back. When my own hand had moved to the blanket that was covering her from me, everything seemed to slow down._

 _Everything in that moment was just…_ perfect.

 _I had my woman in my bed, I was at home, in my Castle at Highever, and my family were probably laying asleep in their own private quarters._

 _Everything was right. Wonderfully so._

 _But then, of course, that moment had to end._

 _I felt Leliana freeze against my cheek, her hand no longer gliding through my hair. I halted my own actions as well, confused as to what stopped her. I pulled away a little so I could look down into her eyes. "Leliana?" I asked her in concern._

 _She gave me a icy look, one that sent a chill down my spine. That look could only be described as betrayed, hurt. She removed her hands before grabbing the blanket around her waist, pulling it forcefully up to cover herself. She pushed me off her as she sat up, and she looked up at me with eyes full of anger. "Why did you lie to me?" she breathed._

 _I frowned, worry and - strangely,_ _ **guilt**_ _– coursing through me as I watched her. "I- what?" I stuttered. "Pardon?"_

" _You lied to me!" she said louder, moving away from me to the other side of the bed. She put_ _her head in her hands and shook her head. She looked as though she was crying, but no tears were showing on her face. "Such a fool I was…"_

 _I started panicking as I watched her stand from the bed and back away, looking around the floor for her clothes. I jumped up from the bed, reaching out for her when I stepped close enough. "Leliana, I'm-"_

" _Don't touch me!" she shrieked, batting at my hand when I was inches away touching her arm. "I don't care for your excuses. What hurts is that you lied! I_ _ **trusted**_ _you!" She scoffed before dropping to the floor away, grabbing her Chantry robes and slipping them on quickly. "What are you playing at?" she continued, her voice getting more and more angry as I grew more frantic. "You tell me you like me, that I mean something to you, and yet you've been lying to my face since the very first day we met!"_

 _Not waiting for me to reply, she stormed towards the door. In my last efforts, I rushed towards her again, taking her wrist in my hand. "Wait! Leliana, I'm sorry!"_

 _She pulled away roughly from my hand, looking as though she would smite me down. "I don't want your apology, Aeden_ _ **Cousland**_ _!"_

 _Dread filled me when she said my name – my_ full _name. All the lies that I'd told her, that I was a farm boy nearly all my life, that Elissa and I were taken in by the Teryrn, they all came back and exploded in my face._

" _I hate you…" Leliana murmured, her face heavy with rage. "I never want to see you again!" she ended in a roar as she marched towards the door, slamming it behind her with all her might._

 _I stared at the door for the longest time, my heart breaking as I willed that Leliana was going to come back through, tell me that she forgave me and we would forget about this whole mess._

 _But she never did._

 _'She... she_ _ **hates** me..?'_

 _Before I could run through the door after her, to tell her that she meant everything to me and that I was sorry, Max began to bark. I looked over to him, seeing that he was now stood up on all fours, barking at the wall._

 _"Max!" said someone harshly. "Shh!"_

 _I looked around the room, frowning as I turned frantically. Even though I could clearly hear another person, I was the only one in the room. Yet Max, who was still staring at the wall, continued to bark at the stone as the strange voice tried to silence him again._

* * *

"Max, please be quiet!" I heard someone say in a hushed tone.

Frowning as I was dragged away from my dream - well, _nightmare_ \- my eyes shot open and I leaned up on my elbows, looking around the barn hastily. The first thing that hit me was the _strong_ stench that filled the air, it's presence very new in the barn. I wrickled my nose, the scent not very appealing.

It was nearly impossible to see anything, but my eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. Max was near the middle of the barn, close to where Elissa and I usually set up our night fire. He was no longer barking, instead quietly standing near the person who had begged him into silence. Looking over to the other hay-bed, I frowned upon seeing it empty. It didn't even look slept in.

 _Wait..._

"Elissa?" I called groggily out into darkness.

There was silence for a brief second, followed by a sigh. I heard rustling for a few moments before I saw her come towards her bed and sit down, the strong smell getting closer as she did. It wasn't anything like I'd ever smelt before, like body odeor. This was... _different._ And it only took a few seconds to realise the smell was coming from _her._

After she removed her boots, she spoke. "Hey," she said, leaning forward on her bed. "Sorry, I thought Max was asleep. I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep."

Only half hearing her words, I brought my hand to my eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them. I flicked the crusty remains away before looking over to her. In the darkness, I couldn't see her too well, only the outline of her body. "What are you doing up?" I asked as I yawned.

"It doesn't matter," she said dismissively, taking off her over clothes until she was in a t-shirt. "I just went out for a walk." She pulled the sheets back on the hay-bed, diving under them before I could say another word. "Good night."

I looked over to her in confusion. She seemed... detatched... _sad_ even. After living with her for seventeen years, I had a good eye of when she was lying or not, and this occasion she was _defiantly_ not okay. Frowning, I turned towards her a little more. "Elissa -"

" **Good night** , Aedan," she said again, only this time more forcefully. She grabbed the covers harshly and dragged them over her shoulder in finality. She turned over in her bed so she was now facing away from me, and gave a sigh as she settled down for sleep.

I lay there in my bed for a long while, staring at her as she lay as stiff as a plank. Honestly, I was quite hurt, albeit annoyed, at her sudden aggression towards me. But if I knew her as well as I thought I did, it was best to let her cool down for a while. Whatever she had been doing this late at night had put her on edge, and she wouldn't open up about any of it if I pushed. I knew she'd tell me what was bothering her soon enough. She always did.

Letting out a breath, I nodded in defeat. "Night," I replied, laying back down on my hay-bed.

I could hear the pitter-patter of paws and felt Max lean against my bed as he lay down. I let my arm fall to the side to land on his belly, and I idly scratched the fur under my fingers as I stared up at the roof. The small droplets of rain could be heard on the wood, letting me know that it was going to be a wet, soggy day on the farm later on. Perfect for my meet up with Le-

...

When the Orleasan woman's name came to my mind, the fact that it was to be a dreary day no longer bothered me. Guilt flooded through me as my dream came back to me. The way it began so well and ended so... _horribly_ wrong. How full my arms felt when she was in them as we lay together in my bed, and how empty they were when she disappeared out of the room, not even giving me a backward glance.

I knew I was being somewhat irrational, that all I saw in my dream were realities I was so scared would come true.

And _that_ was the problem.

It had been two weeks since I'd met Leliana, and my life had taken a turn for the better. I was so much happier, and the people around me could see it, too. We met almost everyday after I finished work on the farm, and we would take walks around the village and just talk. Whenever we weren't together, she would be all I could think about. Even in my dreams I was blessed with her presence.

It didn't take me too long to realise that I had a... _mildly_ unhealthy infatuation with her, and what was embarrassing was that I wasn't being exactly subtle about it, either. I would often stare at her when she talked, watching the way her lips would move as she spoke, just imagining what they would feel like against my own. Whilst I was day dreaming, I would frequently get caught, causing me to look down as a flush would creep up to my ears. She would always giggle a little, then continue with whatever she was saying, a soft blush of her own on her cheeks as she talked.

Those blushes often gave me hope.

It was obvious that I was quite taken with her, yet she didn't confront me on the subject. She was always shy whenever I would begin to stare, or give a complement on something about her. That was a good thing, right?

But then the thoughts of my dream would come back again, how I felt like crying when she yelled at me, telling me that she hated me. I felt empty whenever the thought of her leaving me would barge it's way into my mind, haunting me as she slammed the door shut behind her. I was terrified that if I told her the truth now, my nightmare would come true; that she would reject me for lying to her.

A part of me wanted to tell her the truth, that I was in fact _not_ a farm boy like I'd said, that I was actually of Noble origins, I was a Cousland. That way, I wouldn't have to lie to her anymore, and all the guilt would go away. But the other, the part that was terrified that she would walk away from me, always talked me out of it. She'd given me so much since I'd met her, and the thought of losing all of that was... difficult to bear.

I pressed my hand to my head as I rolled over onto my back. The thought kept bouncing around in head, mocking me for my cowardice. I glared at the ceiling, no longer stroking Max's fur coat. I fisted my hand in my hair, the final decision resting uncomfortably in my mind.

 _'No,'_ I thought in determination. ' _No more lies, no matter what.'_

* * *

A few hours later, after I had finally managed to get some sleep, the cockerel did it's daily round of clambering up to the top of the barn, letting out a loud screech to wake up those in the village. When I had finally woken up, Elissa was already up and fully dressed, a long jumper covering her arms and most of her neck, ready for the wet day ahead. Both Elissa and I said little to each other when we got ready for breakfast, mainly a groan at the sight of the dreary weather and a call to Max to stay in the barn.

Breakfast was the same as usual. Leandra and Bethany were waiting to greet us in the kitchen, the older woman running around the kitchen preparing dinner as she told the younger ones to sit down at the table. She placed the dishes in front of us when it was finished cooking, then marched down the hallway. "Carver! Marian!" she called up the stairs before coming back into the kitchen to set another two plates of breakfast up.

Those of us already at the table began digging into what we were given, knowing that we were going to need our strength for the day ahead. Heavy footsteps made their way down the stairs, signalling that Craver was on his way down to the nearly silent kitchen. "Morning," he said, sitting down next to me. Leandra placed his meal in front of him, the young man's nose wrinkling when he saw the fried tomato which he hated so much.

"I'm glad you didn't put a 'good' in front of that," Bethany said as she looked outside to the farm. "You'd be greatly mistaken if you did."

"We've gotten through worse days," he commented, picking at the bacon on his plate.

From the hallway, another set of footsteps could be heard. I glanced up from my plate, watching as Marian came down from her room. I'd never seen her look as tired as I did that morning. Her hair was a mess and there were bags under her eyes that were bigger than usual. She gave a small smile as she came in, greeting everyone quietly before setting herself next to Elissa.

As soon as she did, I saw Elissa visibly tense. Her jaw locked as she stopped chewing what was in her mouth, and for a few seconds she stayed completely still. After a little while longer, she began to eat again, only this time wolfing down what was in front of her.

Elissa stood from her seat and removed herself from the table, placing the plate and cutlery in the wash bucket. "Thank you," she said to Leandra, who smiled up at her kindly. She knelt down to her boots, strapping them tighter to her legs. "I'm going to get started early today," she added, glancing over at me. "See you in a minute."

Elissa left the house without another word, closing the door behind her firmly. I could see her wandering back towards the barn through the window, and it concerned me to see her wiping her face repeatedly with her damp sleeve. It could have just been the rain, but it looked as though she was crying to me. It didn't escape my notice that Marian was watching her out of the corner of her eye, too.

* * *

By the time the rest of us had made our way into the barn, Elissa had brought out all the tools and guided the two cows and single goat out from the pen. As I had predicted earlier that morning, the day's work was dirty, wet and just plain groggy. Work on the actual farm was mostly slippery, and getting the multiple tools down into the ground was becoming more and more difficult as the rain continued on.

Before we began working, Elissa, myself and the Hawke children came up with a compromise. Whilst three of us were outside working, two would stay inside and milk the animals. When one of us outside would get tired, we would go in and rest for a while as we milked one of the animals, and someone inside would take their place. Carver, Elissa and I opted to head outside first, the rain hitting us as we went towards the crops. I took some shelter in amongst the corn patches, the tall plants giving me some protection from the rain.

After an hour, Carver patted me on the shoulder, letting me know that it was okay for me to head in and switch with one of the girls. Nodding my head in appreciation, I handed him my fork and began jogging back to the barn, squinting my eyes as I went. The dark clouds made it look as though it was still the middle of the night, and I was certain that a thunder storm was soon going to come.

I stopped just outside the barn, catching my breath as I leaned against the barn's wooden frame. I ran my hand over my face and hair, getting rid of any excess rain as I took a little shelter.

"I don't want your apology," I heard Elissa mutter from inside the building. "What's done is done. Just forget about it." My ears perked up in attention, trying to listen to what was being said.

"I'm not trying to apologize," I heard Marian reply. "I'm trying to explain-"

"I don't want your explanations, either," Elissa cut her off. "Can we just forget anything ever happened? Please?"

"No, we can't!" Marian exclaimed. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened, I didn't mean to – no, no, that's not what I meant-"

Elissa chuckled, but to me it sounded more like a pained hiss. "Just leave it, Marian. It was an accident, I get it," she said, foot steps now coming from the inside. "You know, I really thought that you…" There was a long pause; the only sound was the rain hitting the roof. "Just fucking forget it," she ended, her voice breaking as she began to walk again.

Before I could move into the barn, Elissa stormed passed me, not even noticing me when she went by, too busy wiping her eyes with her sleeve. She stepped out onto the farm, her tears mingling with the rain.

Frowning as I watched her walk away in concern, I began to stumble into the barn. There were two cows in the middle, the one goat which had already been milked back in the pen. Marian herself was sat on one of the little stools, her head resting on the cows fat belly as her face was screwed up in frustration.

"What was all that about?" I asked as I walked slowly to the other stool, Marian's head jumping off the cow's stomach as she turned to look at me. I sat down on the stool, looking down to see that the bucket below it was nearly half way full. I looked back over to Marian, waiting for her to answer.

"I - It doesn't – ahh…" she stuttered, blinking several times in what I could only imagine was nervousness. She sighed, shaking her head. "It doesn't matter," she said, leaning her head back on the cow as she began milking the animal again, leaving the both of us in a deep silence.

* * *

The day continued normally after that. We all made our fair rotations, switching in and out of the barn until Malcolm call us into the barn for lunch. We ate our fill, then continued working outside in the rain. After lunch, the day went by much quickly, and soon enough the day's work was at an end.

I headed back into the barn, immediately changing into fresh and dry clothes, putting a towel over my head to rub out any rain in my hair. I threw the dirty, wet clothing into a pile on the floor, making a note to clean them later on when I got back.

It was nice to be in dry clothes after a long day's work. There was something refreshing about it, knowing that the hard work was over. Sadly, however, that feeling was over before it really began as I stepped back out into the rain, taking up a quick jog toward the bridge that split Lothering in two. I gripped the hood over my head tightly to my hair, the cloak fluttering behind me as I ran.

I arrived at the Chantry, closing the door behind me as I tugged the hood from my head. The warm, calming air hit me as soon as I entered, making me breathe a sigh of relief at the sudden heat. I looked around for a few moments, noticing that there weren't as many people here as there usually were. There were seven people in the building's Main Hall, all wearing Chantry Robes as they settled themselves down with a book. I looked to their faces, each one of them becoming more familiar the more I visited the Chantry. However, not one of them seemed to be the woman I was looking for.

I wondered towards the small group of Chantry followers, coming to the only one I had talked to before. "Excuse me?" I said quietly to I didn't disturb the others. "I'm looking for Leliana. Do you know where she is?"

The old lady smiled up at me, nodding her head. "I just saw her go onto the Sister's private quarters. I'll go fetch her for you, my dear."

"Thank you kindly," I replied, bowing my head a little as she rose from her seat on the ground. I moved toward the wall, leaning against it as she disappeared from sight as she went through one of the Chantry's many doors. Suddenly, nervousness swept through me. I had promised myself that I would finally tell Leliana the truth; that I wasn't really what she thought I was. I had gotten passed that, knowing that today everything was going to come out.

The only question was _how_ to tell her…

"Hello?" came a small, shy voice. I looked over to where I'd heard it, and saw a young woman, around my age, slowly coming toward me. She wore Chantry Robes, like the rest of them did, and she held a half opened book in her right hand. She had short, brown hair, worn in a similar fashion to Leliana's, except this girl had more than one braid. She was fairly pretty, and she had kind, hazel eyes."Hi," she repeated, holding out her hand. "You're Aedan, aren't you?" she asked.

I give her a smile, taking her small hand in my own. "Yes, I moved here a nearly a month ago," I confirmed for her, shaking her hand. "And you are?"

"Oh, my name is Kaitlin," she replied, giving me a toothy smile. She let go of my hand as I looked back up towards the door the older Sister had walked through, waiting patiently for she and Leliana to appear. "So, you're waiting for Sister Leliana?"

I smile a little at the mention of her name, which seemed to be happening more often. "Yeah," I replied. "We were supposed to meet up in the tavern, but I finished on the farm earlier than usual."

"Ah, I see," she said, biting slightly on her lower lip. She leaned over to a nearby table, dropping her book on the surface. She then moved closer next to me on the wall, so that our shoulders were touching. She gave me an innocent smile when I turned to look down at her, and I felt the pit of my stomach drop. "You know, you're really handsome," she tells her, her hand coming to my arm.

 _'There it is…'_ I thought, swallowing thickly when her fingers traced the hem on my sleeve.

I heard a giggle from the group of Sister's by the bookcase, and I glanced over quickly, the fact that nearly all of them were staring at me causing me to feel extremely uncomfortable. I felt the blood drain from my face, and I tried to move my hand away. "Erm…" I coughed out. "Thank you That's kind of you to say, but I'm really just here for Leliana."

Kaitlin dropped her smile and scoffed a little. Her hand dropped from my arm to my wrist, encircling it as she got off the wall a little. "Listen to me," she growled, her voice no longer shy and innocent. "Leliana is _nothing_ but a madwoman. Her beliefs about the Chantry aren't even **right** , she didn't even take vows!" she said, almost glaring at me. "She's _insane_. There's no better way to put it. Do you really want to be seen with someone like her?"

I glared down at her, trying to convey to her that she had gone over the line. I wanted to show her how angry I was.

 _How dare she?_

I couldn't reply to what she had said, even thought I was about to. Before I could even open my mouth to utter the words that were on the tip of my tongue, rivers of Leliana's red hair flooded my view, and I felt her hand split into mine. She looked Kaitlin dead in the eye, glaring at her with everything she had. The young Sister gave a cocky smirk as Leliana began to walk us to the Chantry doors, the Orlesian beauty ignoring the insults that were falling out of Kaitlin's mouth.

Leliana marched us out of the Chantry, not even bothering to close the door. We both stepped into the thundering rain, the hood of my cloak staying down as I tried to keep up the pace with the woman leading me. She tugged me over the bridge, not stopping until the Chantry was out of sight. The rain falling onto my head made my hair stick to my face, and after a little while I struggled to flick my hair to the side, most of it falling in front of my gaze.

She began to slow down when we stepped off of the bridge, fully coming to a stop in the middle of the road. The two of us were the only people outside, the pouring rain warding every sane person from leaving their warm, dry homes. I felt the grip on my hand loosen, until the only thing keeping Leliana's hand in my own was me. I tightened my own hold on her palm, coming to stand in front of her when she stood silently for a few moments.

We stood there in complete silence for a few moments, and I took the opportunity to admire the woman in front of me. The entirety of her Chantry Robes were soaked, her hair – usually quite wavy and fluffy – was more flat and sticking to the side of her face, droplets of rain fell off at the ends of her gorgeous locks, and her eyes carried a great weight behind them. Her face was scrunched up in sadness and frustration, causing crinkles to appear on her forehead and above her cheek bones. Usually, I would say that she looked younger than she actually was. But now, she looked older.

And yet, she was still as beautiful as ever.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," she murmured after a long period of silence. "I never wanted you to get involved in this – with _her_ ," she explains, her eyes leaving the ground to come up to my face. I try to give her a comforting smile, and she lowered her gaze to my neck, refusing to look me in the eye.

"The past week has been very… trying. I have a particular belief, that the Maker reveals himself in the beauty of his World. When I talked about it with others, many of the Chantry folk treated me with disdain – Kaitlin included," she continued. As she talked, my free hand went to her own empty one. We stood in the middle of the pathway, rain pouring down on our heads, holding hands as she spoke. I gave both of her hand a squeeze and she continued once again. "She has been very condescending to me lately. She calls me unfaithful; that by beliefs aren't pure."

Leliana paused for a little while, then looked back up to me. "Some of those in the Chantry no longer even speak to me because of her, because of what lies she has told of me. I… I didn't want her to do the same to you. I don't know what I would have done this week if it hadn't been for your daily visits."

I listened to her carefully as she explained her problem to me, and I gave her a little smile when I realised what she meant. With everything that had happened with her Brother's and Sister's in the Chantry, she was scared that she was to lose me, too. When the realisation hit me, she looked down to the ground again.

I let go of her hands, watching as they fell clumsily down to her sides. I placed one hand on her shoulder, the other on her cheek. I rubbed my thumb across her cheek bone, encouraging her to look up to me. Gingerly, she raised her gaze to me again, her shy expression making me lose my words. Instead of talking, I brought her into my embrace, both my arms coming around her shoulders. I felt her own arms snake around my middle and she dove her head into my chest. I gave her hair a light stroke, moving so I could kiss her forehead. "Dear, sweet Leliana," I murmured into her hair. "You have no need to worry about me. I'm not leaving you because of what some stuck up, Chantry prissy tells me."

I feel Leliana nod a little, and I give her hair another kiss. I pull away, resting my chin atop her head as I breathe in the scent of her soaked hair. As I had already known from my dreams, she felt _perfect_ resting in my arms. To have that dream become a reality was… it was simply amazing. It caused my insides turn into a mushy goo, my mind race, and my hart to gallop.

I'd never felt anything like it before.

It was like I was being filled with a delicious warmth that I decided then and there that I couldn't live without.

My eyes snapped open, and I felt everything around me freeze. A sudden realisation hit me, one that filled me with happiness and gold.

 _'Oh Maker… I love her.'_

Of course, I had known quite early on that I would fall for this woman. And as I drove my nose back into her hair, I figured out that I finally had.

A wave of guilt hit me like a tsunami then, causing the great emotions in me to shrivel and evaporate. The situation dawned on me, and I tightened my hold on the woman in my arms. I had realised my true feelings, and now I was more determined than ever to come clean, to tell her to truth. But the possibility that she would reject me was always there, and now that thought was unbearable.

Taking a calming breath, I released my hold on her, feeling a little better when she looked up at me with a smile. "I… I have something to tell you," I said, taking one of her hands. She frowned up at me, and I gave an apologetic smile. "Not here. This needs to be private," I added. She nodded in understanding, and I began to lead her towards the barn. Elissa wasn't there when I left, and I half hoped that she was still absent when I returned.

Leliana and I needed to talk, but not out in the rain.


	4. Chapter 4

I pushed the barn door closed once we were inside, the building quiet and deathly cold. As I had hoped, Elissa was nowhere to be found, and I took light in seeing that neither was Max. ' _Good,'_ I thought. _"That means wherever she is, Max was with her.'_

I quickly made up a fire, gathering the covers from my hay-bed and setting them down on the floor a little way from the flames. It was then that I noticed Leliana beginning to strip herself from large parts of her Robes. I could feel myself bright, but found myself unable to look away. When she took away one part of the robes, she would set the garment on the floor to dry by the fire.

Soon after, she caught me staring and gave me a knowing look. She smiled, setting another piece down on the floor. "Such a _gentleman,"_ she teased lightly. As she jokingly mocked me, she paused taking off the robes, her gaze now different. Her smile faltered a little, her eyes cast downwards. She bit her lower lip, then continued with removing her robes. "I wear clothing underneath them," she told me, her voice dripping with nervousness.

"It must be very hot," I commented, watching her as she placed the garments on the ground. She nodded stiffly, and I took a few moments to pick out my next words carefully. "If that's the case, why do you wear so many layers?" I wondered aloud. "If you don't mind my asking."

Leliana shook her head, her lips drawing a straight line before sitting down on the sheet. "It doesn't matter," she replied quietly.

In the end, she was completely stripped of her robes, which were now drying close by the fire. Leliana eventually was left sat on the ground in a large, sleeved shirt and thin trousers. She was quite covered, so much so that the only new flesh I was able to see were her small, pale feet. She sat with her knees up to her chest, her arms encircling her legs. Her hair was still fairly wet, a few droplets falling from the ends down to the ground. I smiled despite myself at the sight of her, and removed my cloak.

I sat down next to her, I decided that then was as good a time as any to come clean. We sat in silence as I once again began searching for the right words to say. Leliana waited patiently for me, knowing that I was already thinking about what I needed to tell her.

In the end, I sighed, leaning forward so I could warm my hands. I could feel the warmth of the fire fill me, and eventually the words I needed to speak became clearer. "I haven't been very truthful with you," I admitted quietly. She turned to look over at me and frowned. I swallowed the lump in my throat, the fear of what could happen beginning to seep in. "A few weeks ago, I remember telling you that me and Elissa grew up on a farm and then the Teryrn came by looking for new servants. And that our father sent us to the Castle." She nodded, listening carefully as I explained. "Well, that wasn't strictly true," I continued. My hands came to my lap, both of them fidgeting.

"The truth is that the Teryrn was actually our father," I coughed out. The realisation that this was the first time I had talked about my family since I arrived in Lothering began to dawn on me, and I felt tears come to my eyes when I thought of them. Stubbornly, I shook my head, blinking away the tears. I knew that Leliana was looking over to me, but I refused to return her gaze until I had finished explaining. Otherwise, I feared that I never would. "Elissa and I grew up in the Castle, in the House of Cousland. Both her, me and my brother, Fergus. He met a woman called Oriana, and they married, did married couple things, and had a child; Oren. He was born around six years ago.

"My father was close with a man named Howe; Rendon Howe." I tried hard not to grit my teeth too hard, lest they crack from the strain. "He was to stay at the Castle for a few days, for him and my father to talk about some things - politics or something. I can't remember exactly. The first night after his arrival, he was able to sneak his soldiers in through the servants quarters. He laid siege on the building. His men slaughtered my brother and his wife in their own bed. Oren, too." I stopped for a little while, too stuck in the memory of finding the little family in their room.

To my surprise, I felt Leliana place her hand over my shoulder. I looked down at her, finding that she had moved herself closer to me. In that moment, the thoughts of my family's deaths left me, and all there was was her. Her understand, sympathetic gaze, with her little smile and comforting gestures. All the worry of rejection and hateful words disappeared then, all of it being replaced with my bare, wonderful feelings for this woman.

I gave her a smile in return, and I placed my hand over hers.

Taking a breath, I continued once again, my eyes back down and looking into the fire. "By the time Elissa, my Mother and I had found Father, he was badly injured. He told me and Elissa to run, but my Mother refused to leave him. Whilst my sister and I escaped, she stayed behind to buy us some time. When we finally did get away, the Castle was completely taken. I don't think anyone but us got out alive.

"And that's it, I guess," I ended, turned back up to the look at her. "That's me and Elissa. I know I'm not the farm boy I said I was. I'm a Cousland; a Noble. And I'm sorry for telling you otherwise. I just…" I trailed off, not sure how to word my fear. Theoretically, I didn't really have anything to worry about. Leliana didn't seem to be angry at all. She seemed quite the opposite, actually. I gave a stifled laugh as I shook my head, and breathed out, "I just hope that this doesn't change anything. With us, I mean."

The hand on my shoulder tightened, and I felt Leliana drop her forehead onto my arm. "Oh, Aedan," she chuckled. "Of course it doesn't. I'm glad you told me, but you had every right to keep it to yourself. You probably just didn't want to talk about it then, and I can understand why. It must have been horrible," she said against my shoulder. I said nothing in response, too enthralled was I at the sensation of her breathing down my neck. I swallowed, feeling the hairs at the back of my neck stand out on ends. "So no," she added. "The fact that you were born of higher blood than a farm boy doesn't concern me at all. And it certainly doesn't change the way I think of you."

 _'Wait… what? Does she mean that…'_

I felt my eyes widen a little at her words, and I turned my head to look at her. It was then that I realised how _close_ we were. Our lips must have only been mere inches apart, and I found myself staring down at them. I swallowed the rising lump in my throat again, determined this time to keep it down. I looked back up to her eyes, only to find she was staring down at my own lips.

 _'She_ _ **does**_ _mean that,'_ I thought, my heart swelling as my breath caught. I fought back a smile, the butterflies in my belly flapping their tiny wings continuously.

Just as I was about to lean in, to finally press my aching lips against her own, soft, moist ones, she pulled back, her understanding expression turning into one of sadness. She pulled away from my arm, and it took a lot of effort to not pull her back. The butterflies stopped, instead replaced with a bottomless pit in my stomach. ' _Maybe she_ _ **doesn't**_ _mean that…'_

She took her hand away from my grip, but didn't move to sit away from me. Instead, she adopted her previous sitting position with her knees to her chest and arm around her legs. She sighed, leaning her head back onto my shoulder. "I suppose if you're going to tell me the truth, I should have the decency to do the same."

I frowned as I looked to her, but she did nothing to turn her eyes from the fire. "I'm afraid this is a story in which I don't know where to begin."

"Maybe the beginning?" I joked. I felt her stifle a small chuckle, and she gave a small nod.

"Fair enough," she replied. "In that case, it's important to point out that I wasn't actually a minstrel travelling around Orlais. Minstrels are merely storytellers, and sometimes song writers," she explained to me. I remember her telling me a little about these minstrels a little while after we met, and with her experience in storytelling, I was a little surprised to hear that she wasn't actually one of them. "Bards, on the other hand, are Minstrels, and more. They tell stories and sing sometimes, but they also infiltrate, steal… sometimes _assassinate._ It depends on the bard. Some work alone, or in small groups. A few people believe that there is a bard order, but I don't think this is true."

"You seem to know a great deal about them," I commented, already knowing what she was suggesting.

"And I should, no? Considering I spend most of my adult life as one," she replied. "And now that's out in the air, I can tell you why exactly I left Orlais." She pushed herself off of my shoulder and stared into the fire again, her arms coming around her legs again. "I've never really felt like talking about it; what happened to me. Maybe it will affect us," he said, and soon gave a shrug. "But you should know. I came to Fereldan and the Chantry because I was being hunted, in Orlais."

Whatever I had been expecting her to say, that defiantly wasn't it. I was shocked by the sudden confession. What was a woman like Leliana being hunted for? " _Hunted?_ " I asked. "What for?"

Her expression turned darker then, and I watched as she gripped one of the legs of her trousers. "I was framed; betrayed by someone I thought I knew, and could trust. Marjolaine…" Leliana spoke the name with a hint of remorse, sadness, and regret. I knew from that that whatever had happened to her must have been big. "She was my mentor, and friend," she added. Her hand came to her hair, pulling a few rebellious strands back behind her ear that always refused to stay there. "She taught me the bardic arts – how to enchant with word and song, to carry myself as a high born lady, to blend in as a servant. The skills I learnt I used to serve her – my bard master – because I loved her, and because I enjoyed what I did."

 _'Wait… sorry?'_

"You _loved_ her?" I asked incredulously. _That_ came as the biggest shock to me that night. I had no idea she was… _that_ was inclined.

Leliana gave me a shy smile, nodding before she continued. "She was a remarkable woman. I cannot fully express the admiration I had for her, nor the depth of my affection." Her smile was gone in an instant after that, and she was fidgeting with her trouser leg once again. "I thought I knew her. My devotion to me to her… less than noble attributes.

'I suppose you could say it was my fault, really," she said in wonder, mostly to herself. "There was a man I was sent to kill. I was to bring Marjolaine everything he carried. I found documents on his body – sealed documents."

It was strange listening to her talk about murdering someone as though it was the most normal thing in the world. The main reason I withheld from speaking of my run in with Howe's guard was so that I couldn't tell her of my first murder. I suppose, in the life that she led, she took more than a life or two.

"You opened them, didn't you?" I said.

"My curiosity got the better of me," she admitted. "Something just told me that I had to know what was in those letters. As it turns out, Marjolaine had been selling all kinds of information about Orlais to other countries – Navarra and Antiva among others. It was treason. My concern wasn't that she was a traitor, but that her life would be in danger if she was caught.

"I should have left well alone, but I didn't. She brushed aside my concerns and said that she felt guilty and it was in the past. She told me that the documents had to be destroyed.

"I believed her. And I kept believing her, up until they showed me the documents, altered by her hand, to make me look the traitor. The Orlesian Guard… they captured me. Did _terrible_ thing to make me confess and reveal my conspiritors. It was a traitor's punishment I endured…" she murmured. It was a subconscious act, but when she spoke of the guards that held her captive, she gripped the looseness of her shirt and tugged the fabric closer to her person, as if ashamed by what was underneath it.

 _'It's because she is,'_ I realised. 'A traitor's punishment' didn't sound pleasant at all, and I dreaded my imagination for the kinds of painful tactics they could have forced upon her.

"The skills Marjolaine taught me were good for something, at least," she added. "I broke free when I saw the opportunity. For a time, I contemplated seeking her out. But she was always the superior bard. If she knew I was coming for her, she would have had me caught again. And so I fled to Fereldan, to the Chantry and the Makar."

"And you've been here ever since," I ended for her. She nodded, giving me a little smile when her story was at last told.

"And, like you, I hope this doesn't change anything."

I gave Leliana a chuckle and moved to sit closer to her. Our shoulders were pressed together and I guided my hand carefully into her lap to take one of her hands in mine. I intertwined our fingers and gave her knee a nudge with my own. "If I thought about you any differently, I'd be a bit of a hypocrite," I said, running my thumb along her knuckle.

"That's good to know," she giggled. She leaned her head back on my shoulder, and taking a chance, I rested my head on hers. I caught a glipse of her smile before she closed her eyes and made herself more comfortable, and my whole insides filled with pride. "It feels good to have this off my chest," she mumbled, her eyes still closed.

A little while later, the air filled with a comfortable silence, her breathing became slow and even. Glancing down, I smile at the slightly parted lips and I knew that she was dozing. Carefully, I detatched our hands and slowly laid her down on the sheet. She quickly turned onto her side, using her arm as a pillow as she rested. Smiling to myself, I moved over to her discarded clothes, propping them up so they could be warmed more by the fire, which roared silently as Leliana slept.

It was a few hours before Leliana woke, her clothes and hair now dry, as were most of my own. My cloak was still quite damp, but it was wearable. The rain continued to beat down on the barn roof, however much lighter than it had earlier in the day.

All throughout the hours of her sleep, the only thing I did was watch her sleep. I watched how her lips would part as she exhaled, how her eyes would flutter under her lips, and the way she would curl into a ball, her knees pulled right up to me chin as she dreamt. How I hadn't realised sooner that I had fallen in love with her, I will never know.

Every once in a while, she would give a small sound, a whimper or a groan, and turn over whilst she slept. As she did, the material that kept her covered would slip, and reveal parts of flesh; the bottom of her back, her ankle, a small section of her shoulder. And each time I took advantage of her state of unconsciousness and take a peek. My hands itched as I held them back from touching, and I wanted nothing more than to lay down with her and join her in her slumber. The fact that it would be improper and way too forward stopped me from doing so, but they didn't stop me from looking at the flawless skin that was on show.

Well, maybe not _flawless…_

During the final few minutes of her rest, she turned towards me in her sleep to lay on her belly, the baggy shirt she was wearing slipping down somewhat, the entirety of her left shoulder coming into my view. At first, it was difficult to notice the disfigurements, but that was due to the fire being too far away to give light to her back. But as I looked closer, the harsh, white lines of scar tissue began to make themselves known.

There was only two that I could see, one just poking up over the collar of her shirt, the other stretching from the top her shoulder to the front of her body. As she was laying on her stomach, I couldn't see where the scar ended, but judging from how thick it was, I knew it had to be long. And I had no doubt in my mind that these were not the only injuries she suffered from.

When Leliana did eventually wake, the sky had darkened, and soon I knew that Leandra would call us all in for dinner. She expressed that it was time for her own evening meal as well, and after her wake up stretch, she began to pull the forgotten garments of her robes back on.

We were back out in the rain a few minutes later, right after I had extinguished the fire. Instead of walking, the Orlesian goddess started at a run, giggling back at me as she went; a challenge. Letting the hood of my cloak fall from my head, I took off after her at full speed. At my sudden increase of run, Leliana began to run faster, not willing to be caught up by either the rain nor me. We ran through the village like two children playing tag, and part of me was happy to note that there weren't any people around to notice our child-like behaviour. Even if there had been, I think I was too happy to even have pay them mind.

We reached the Chantry a few minutes later, the both of us laughing as the rain began to soak us for the second time that day. We both regained our breathes, glancing up at each other. The fact that it was raining didn't seem to bother me much anymore, and all that was left was a smile on my face as her rain began to stick to her cheek.

It didn't take long for her to notice my watching her, and her dark blue eyes began to boar into my own green ones. Her smile began to lessen, as did my own, and it was only then did I realise how close we were standing. We weren't even a foot apart, and as she panted from our run, I felt her breath hit my neck, the warmth mixing with the cold causing shivers to run down my spin pleasantly.

I watched her quietly, trying hard to decide on what to do next. I knew what I wanted, but I wouldn't move without her telling me, in some way shape or form, that she wanted the same thing. That she had the same urge to press her lips to my own.

And by some miracle – by some shinning, Maker-blessed, heaven above miracle – she did.

Leliana gave a quick smile, which soon disappeared again as she glanced down at my lips. She subconsciously licked her own, taking a small step towards me as she moved her eyes back up to mine. I saw the want behind them, the same urge that I was having.

I gingerly placed my hand on her cheek, my thumb running just below her lips. I didn't expect her to, but if she wanted to back away, I was going to give her the chance. She leaned her cheek further into my hand, her eyes fluttering closed at the contact. When they re-opened, I took a step closer to her, our bodies inches away from each other as I leaned my head down, our foreheads coming together gently.

I smiled despite myself and pressed my cold, rain-kissed lips to hers.

Despite the rain pouring down on us, the grey clouds making the village grow dark and cold, kissing her was everything I thought it would be and more.

It was chaste at first, both of us getting used to the feeling of the other. I don't remember closing my eyes, but as I pulled away slightly from our first kiss, I felt myself blindly being pulled in for another one. A familiar tingle ran through my body, the butterflies flapping away in my stomach, when Leliana rose on her tip-toes to press her lips further onto mine. She wrapped one of her arms around my neck, the other coming to my cloak as she fisted it tightly in her hand.

Our shorten of breath caused us to force apart, my eyes opening as I looked down to her. Her eyes were half lidded and looking up at me, a little smile on her face as she pulled me back down, not even concerned at the fact her clothes were once again getting soaked. She groaned against my lips as she ran her hand to the back of my neck, teasing the hair there before running her fingers through it. She stood up higher again, her tongue probing at my inexperienced lips, asking for permission to enter.

In my adrenaline fuelled haze, I parted my lips, her tongue soon slipping past to settle with my own. I wrapped my arms around her waist as I soon began to feel the need for air again.

A little while after, I pulled away from Leliana, settling for resting my head against her shoulder as we caught our breathes again.

 _'This is another one of my dreams,'_ I thought as my hold on her tightened. ' _In a few moments, I'll wake up sweaty in my bed, cursing myself for having such visions.'_ It just didn't seem possible for me to be in this woman's arms, kissing her and tightening my hold on her so she couldn't escape. Yet, there I was; young, selfish, and loving every second of it.

We stood there for a good few minutes, just savouring each other's company. Every few moments, she would nudge her nose against mine, encouraging me to open my eyes. When I did, she would giggle, and close hers again. Eventually, she gave me a final peck on the lips, and loosened the arms around my shoulders. I reluctantly did the same, and we parted, both wearing grins. Though I suspect mine was larger than hers by a long shot.

Leliana walked backwards towards the Chantry doors, and gave me a small wave. "Good night, Aedan," she called sweetly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night," I called back.

I didn't move until she had closed the door. And in truth, I didn't move for a good few minutes after, either, too happy and too in amongst the memory of her lips moving gracefully against mine. With a spring in my step, I turned on heel, and began walking towards the bridge as I made my way home.

 _ **A.N: Sorry this took so long to get out. Collage has began again and it's difficult to find the time to write.**_

 _ **The next chapter will be the last, and I'm afraid it won't be out for a little while for two reasons.**_

 _ **One: Collage life is a busy life. I barely found time to write this chapter. In future, I won't be doing multiple chapter stories for this reason. It's hard to commit to different things when there isn't the time to do so, and writing long stories is quite the commitment in some cases.**_

 _ **And two: I'm afraid through starting collage again, and a few other things happening in life in general, I have lost my muse for this story, as you can probably tell from the writing of this update. It feels different writing it now, like it's an obligation, which is definably what I don't want my hobby to become. So I apologize for any spelling and grammar errors.**_

 _ **Not sure when the last update will be, but hopefully soon.**_

 _ **Until then, have a good one :)**_

 _ **~RJay**_


	5. Chapter 5

_As I stood in silence under a sheltering tree, I watched as people from all ages began pilling wood just outside of Highever Castle._

 _There was no wind, no sun, just a large, black cloud hovering over my head, the rain beating hard and heavy on the ground. The perfect weather for a day such as this._

 _I was spared from the rain, most of the leaves above taking the damage for me. Under the tree with me, I could see few other people, familiar faces whose names I couldn't remember. There was a Lord who I'd met at a party here, a servant there, maybe a few local villagers who used to deliver food to the castle. They all wore sad expression, which must have been similar to the one I was wearing myself._

 _Soon enough, the people pilling up the wood deemed there was enough to start this depressing event, and turned to one of the buildings, going inside quietly to get what they needed._

 _Or more so,_ _ **who**_ _they needed._

 _There were ten people in total, mostly adults and mostly men. They came back out of the building two by two, each pair holding up a long, wooden box._

 _My chest tightened when I saw the first box, larger than the rest of them that it took four people to it. It hurt seeing them carry this heavy, lifeless box, because I knew who laid in an eternal slumber inside. On the side of the box were inscriptions, but I didn't bother reading them._

 _After all, I had written them myself, along with Elissa._

' _Model father'_

' _Loving mother'_

 _The next box was much like the first, only this one had a longer inscription and it was a different colour; black instead of brown. The final box to come from inside the building was narrower, only two people carrying this one._

 _I watched with a heavy heart as the ten people carried the boxes out into the rain, wincing as the water splattered on their faces. Those surrounding me under the tree began to move, humming a slow, solemn tune as they did. I found myself joining them, my voice lower than the rest. I felt a close, somewhat comforting presence beside me, but I didn't have the heart to look._

 _The people and I gathered around the wooden stage, which was being sheltered by a large tent. The boxes were sat next to each other on the wood, droplets falling off of them and onto the ground._

 _In the corner of my eye, I vaguely saw what was happening. A young man, possibly just a teenager, was holding a large stick high, the top end of it engulfed in flames. He wondered closer to the pile of boxes, the humming becoming louder as he thrust the flames higher for all to see. Then, with no warning, he threw the stick in amongst the crowd of boxes._

 _As each of them caught fire, I found myself wondering what the souls inside must have felt. Happiness? Relief at finally being let free? Sadness because they were leaving the world for good?_

 _All I knew was that I didn't feel any of that._

 _In fact, I didn't feel anything. Just…_ _ **numb**_. _And for that, I felt horrible._

 _Inside those wooden caskets was the family that had been ripped away from me. Mother, Father, Fergus, Oriana, even precious little Oren. Their bodies were being burnt in a final goodbye, and I couldn't even shed a tear._

 _I guess I'd already done all my grieving, my crying for the family I'd lost._

 _I was alone. There was nothing for me._

 _As I watched the boxes erupt in flame, I felt a tug on my left hand. Frowning, I turned my gaze from my family to who had wanted my attention. On my side, holding my hand, was Elissa. She was clad in a black dress, her hair soaking wet from the rain. She gave me a squeeze, and sent me a small smile._

 _I gave her a smile in return, and we both looked over to the funeral. A few people were turning to leave, already done saying their goodbyes._

 _A few moments later, I felt another tug, but on my empty hand. I looked over once again, and saw the unmistakable red hair that had often visited me in my dreams. Leliana's gorgeous blue eyes peered up at me, an understanding smile on her lips. Slowly, she gripped my forearm comfortingly with her other hand and leaned her head on my shoulder, intertwining our fingers as she sighed._

' _No…' I thought. 'I'm not alone.'_

 _I let out a long breath, feeling the two small hands in my own. I watched as the flames began to break down the wood, knowing that the bodies inside were completely gone, now crisps under the embers._

 _For the first time since Highever, I truly – finally – felt at peace._

" _I'm sorry, I really am."_

 _I frowned, looking around. There was no one else in the graveyard except Elissa, Leliana and I._

 _Who...?_

… _._

"I've already said that I don't want your apology."

 _Elissa..?_

As I felt myself being pulled away from my dream, I clenched my eyes shut and drove my face deeper into my pillow. I felt groggy, as always when I had been woken up. I breathed into my pillow, the sound of the fire tittering telling me that it was still early into the night, and that I hadn't been sleeping for all that long.

"I'm not trying to apologise – no, I _am,_ I just…" I heard someone say. In my sleep dazed mind, I recognised the voice, but was unable to place my finger on who it was. "I'm really bad with words. I'm trying to explain. Please, just hear me out."

"Why should I?" Elissa snapped. "And you don't owe me anything, and certainly not an apology."

"You're wrong, I do." There was silence for a long moment, the atmosphere tense and awkward. I squinted my eyes open slightly, the brightness of the fire forcing them closed again. "I know I shouldn't have left you, I was awake all night beating myself up about it… All I've ever had are fuck-buddies, 'lissa. I never wanted anything else, but with you it was different. And then you… said what you said, and I guess I just chickened out."

I heard shuffling, like someone was standing up. The sound came closer until it was right beside me, and I knew that whoever Elissa was talking too was now sitting in between our beds. Squinting my eyes open again, I caught a glimpse of them. I only saw the back of their head, but that gave me enough for me to know who it was.

 _Marian?_

"I'm so sorry," she murmured. "For last night, and today."

"Like I said," Elissa started. "You don't owe me anything, Marian. Why can't we just forget it ever happened? Then you can go back to screwing every other girl in the village."

"Because I don't _want_ them," Marian forced out. "I… I want you."

I was thankful for the pillow, because that was the only thing that stopped me from widening my eyes in shock, besides the blinding fire. I realised what they were talking about, and how I kept down a blush I don't know.

' _Elissa likes women?'_ I wondered quietly, the two women saying nothing for a long while.

The longer I thought about it, the less it seemed shocking, and the more it made sense. Throughout our teenage upbringing, Mother and Father had both arranged us to meet with countless suitors, children from Lord's and dignitaries all over Fereldan, some even from foreign countries.

A few of my own I had courted for a time, but it never really worked out. Elissa, on the other hand, always did her best to stay away from her suitors, or at least did her best to make sure _they_ would stay away from _her_. This included poor manors, cursing, and if I remember rightly belching at the dinner table on more than one occasion.

Now that I thought about it, she was never really interested in them at all. The amount of times I saw the maids swoon over some Lord of other was beyond counting, and my sister was never one of them. She always used to roll her eyes and leave the room.

Now it all made sense. And it seemed she had found someone without the help of our parents.

"You left me at the most emotional moment of my life, and you think a word of 'sorry' is going to cover it?" Elissa uttered quietly. She gave a sniffle, and I heard shuffling again. I opened my eyes again, and saw that Marian had moved to sit on the side of the hay bed. Her hands were on Elissa's face, her thumbs wiping away the tears that fell from my sister's eyes. Elissa herself didn't protest, only wrapped the sheet more tightly around her body. I was sure I saw her lean slightly into Marian's hand, but I had closed my eyes again in fear that I would be caught.

"I know it's not going to fix everything, but it's a start," Marian said. "I want to make it up to you… but I won't try if you don't want me to."

Another eerie silence.

In truth, a part of me wanted Elissa to tell the farm girl to leave, that the damage was done and she didn't want her comfort. But another hoped that everything would be alright between the two. With everything that had happened, neither she nor I needed yet another person to leave us again. With me, the person that I was hoping to move on with was Leliana, and she certainly seemed to return my affections.

Maybe for Elissa, it was Marian.

I heard another shift, which was followed by a sharp intake of breath. There was nothing but silence for a few moments, before I heard the unmistakable sound of… _kissing._

I gritted my teeth slightly at the sound and forced myself to stay down. I had to keep reminding myself that Elissa was happy with this decision, and to not ruin this moment for her. But even though I kept her happiness in the front of my mind, there was a little voice that kept whispering ' _You're her big brother._ _ **Do something**_ _…"_

The two women continued their... _activities_ for a little while longer, a small grumble or moan added in every few minutes.

Eventually, they pulled away, and I heard Elissa give a giggle.

A _girly_ giggle.

I heared another peck of the lips, and Marian chuckled quietly. "I'd best be getting back," she murmured. "I don't want mother giving me another lecture."

"If you _have_ to," I heard Elissa grumbled. I heard once more the sound of shuffling, and Marian began walking towards the door. The fire tittered as she walked, and I heard her lift the bolt to the gate.

"Hey, Marian?" Elissa called, a little hint of nervousness mixed with her voice. There was a few moment silence before she continued, her voice lessened to nearly a whisper. "I love you."

It was a test. I think it was, anyway. To see if the Hawke's eldest would chicken out again and run. After what had happened between the two, I'd be surprised if Elissa wasn't a little bit unsure.

I heard Marian give out a breathy laugh, not a nervous one like I expected.

"I love you, too."

…

Unlike the previous, miserable day, the next was pleasantly warm, the sun shining down on the inhabitants of Lothering as they went about their day. I walked across the village, every once in a while spotting the odd puddle or sloppy mud patch from yesterday's weather, all of which were slowly drying up.

It was only mid-morning when Malcom had allowed us our break, for which we were all thankful for. As I prepared to make my way over to the Chantry, I didn't fail to notice Elissa taking Marian's arm, the two chuckling as they made their way from the farm. I had mixed feelings about this new relationship they had formed, to be perfectly honest. So much so that I had to keep reminding myself that this was about Elissa's happiness, not my own. As long as she was happy, that's all that mattered to me on the subject.

I began to lose my train of thought once I reached the bridge. Usually when I came to visit Leliana during my breaks, she was inside the Chantry. She would sometimes be praying, or other times she would be out in the garden. This time however, she was outside in the sunshine, a book resting lazily in her hands as she read the pages one by one. She sat upon a bench outside the holy building, the sunshine lighting her up perfectly.

I smiled to myself as I approached, wondering what book she was reading.

My hand dove into my pocket, to the white flower I had found during my morning's work. It was a large flower, and I was surprised that it was able to fit in my pocket without it being crushed. It was the same flower that Leliana had described – _I_ _ **think**_ \- and I hoped that it was the same one.

As I got closer, my mind returned to our kiss. I smiled wider as my mind wondered, remembering the way her lips seemed to glide across my own. It was amazing that she seemed to reciprocate my feelings. Unbelievable, actually.

Too engrossed in her book, she failed to notice me approaching. I walked quietly to the bench, stopping a little short of her. "Good book?" I asked.

I had half expected her to jump, or look startled at least, but all she gave me was a smile and a chuckle. "Very," she replied, looking up at me from her resting place.

' _I suppose she wasn't too engrossed in her book after all…'_ I thought, wondering if I was ever going to get passed her Bardic talents. Moving from the pathway, I leaned down and sat on the bench as she slipped her bookmark into place. "How long is your break today?" she asked, setting the closed book on her lap.

"Only fifteen minutes," I replied, my hand itching to go to my pocket. "What about you? You have anything to do today?"

"I finished the morning chores early. I have nothing to do until this afternoon," she shrugged. "I was half tempted to come and see you for a change, but I didn't want to distract you." She chuckled lightly.

"Please, I could have used the distraction," I joked with her.

Without warning, she slipped her hand into mine, intertwining our fingers together. On instinct, I ran my thumb over her knuckle, but it struck me that her smile had lessened. I followed her gaze, and found that she was looking over to one of the Chantry Sisters; Caitlin. The Sister glanced over as us a few times as she knelt down in the grass, tending to the flowers that has been wrecked in the storm. She gave one look at me, then quickly glanced down to her work.

I tightened my fingers around Leliana's, bringing her sight back to me. "Don't worry about her," I murmured. I lifted my free hand and placed it under her chin. She gave me a slight smile and nodded, squeezing my fingers back. "I have something for you," I announced, dropping my hand from her chin. I carefully reached inside my right pocket, taking the stem between my fingers as I brought the flower out.

I presented it to her, and she broke into a blushing smile. "For me? It's beautiful!" she said in glee, taking the flower from me.

"Smell it," I insisted, glad that she had approved.

Leliana lifted the flowers under her nose and inhaled. She frowned before taking another smell, a nostalgic smile spreading on her lips. "This… this was her favourite type of flower…" she murmured, and another burst of proudness flew through me. It _was_ the right one. "It smells _just_ like mother used to. I haven't seen them in such a long time."

"I found it by the farm," I said, my hands coming to my lap. "I remembered you talking about them, how your mother used to put them in her clothes, so I just thought that you'd…" I trailed off.

Turning toward me, she threw her arms around my neck, laughing into my shoulder. "Thank you _so_ much for remembering," she mumbled into my work shirt. We stayed there for a long while, me savouring the feel of her in my arms once again. Eventually, she pulled away. "Are you free this evening?"

"For you? Always."

She gave that giggle that I loved, and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. "Well, in _that_ case, would you meet me by the windmill, say, sunset?"

In an attempt to hide my mild excitement, I gave a strangled cough. I cleared my throat, and nodded. "I'll see you there," I said, readying myself to get back to work.

I stood from the bench, not failing to notice Leliana kept a tight hold on my hand. As I glanced back down to her, she rose from the bench as well, leaning up to me. She pressed her lips to my cheek, murmuring, "Thank you for the flower."

As she began to pull away, she released my hand. Feeling a spout of confidence, I brought her hand back into my own and leaned down, pressing my lips to hers. From around us, I heard gasps and small mutteres of disapproval, but it didn't matter. None of it mattered. Not with her arms snaking their way around my neck and tugging me closer.

It was brief, chaste, and over far too quickly. She released her hold on me, grinning as she took as step away from me. "I'll see you later, Aedan," she said, giving me one last smile before settling back down on the bench. "And be sure not to attend dinner."

With a sudden, new spring in my step – which always seemed to happen whenever she placed her gorgeous lips on me – I began to make my way back to the farm, my mind constantly wondering in excitement what she had planned for the night.

…

I stretched my arms over my grubby head, working out the large kink I could feel growing in my shoulder. If I thought yesterday's work had been difficult, today's had been even more so. From the previous day of rain, the open mud was still sludgy, and the absence of rain caused us to stay dirty and mucky if we fell harshly to the cold ground.

Needless to say, the day had been challenging.

The main thought that kept me going was whatever Leliana had planned for us that evening. A strange, giddy excitement ruptured through me whenever I thought about the night to come. What had she planned?

Was it this big, elaborate night out?

No. No that didn't seem like the thing Leliana would do.

A quiet night, perhaps? Just the two of us with a bottle of wine to share?

Or maybe it was simply a walk? The two us alone together, hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder?

All the possibilities of what Leliana had planned bounced around in my head, teasing me as they passed. The impatient part of me became irritable throughout the day, wondering what the night would bring.

But all in all, I just felt… _enthusiastic_ about it.

The day passed quicker than the previous, strangely, and I quickly made my way back to the barn. I made quick work of my dirty clothing, hastily rubbing them in the wash basin Leandra has placed in the building for Elissa and myself.

Elissa, however, was not in the barn.

I somewhat smiled to myself in relief, knowing that she was no longer unhappy. Whether Elissa and Marian wanted to keep their new relationship secret was unknown, but they certainly didn't seem to mind anyone knowing. All throughout the day, the two often threw sideways glances at one another, smiling and looking down with blushed cheeks and flushed necks when they realised they were caught ogling.

I chuckled at the love sick teenagers they were, and searched for my dry clothing.

…

I straightened out my tunic shirt for what must have been the fourth time since leaving the Barn, worried that the slightest crease might ruin everything. In the dim, descending sunlight, I looked over my top again as I walked towards the Windmill Leliana had said to meet her by.

It dawned on me quickly after I finished work that this was, in fact, a _date._

…

Or maybe it was just a quiet night between close friends?

My stomach dropped. My steps began thumping harder on the ground, nervousness seeping into my gut. Were we just friends still?

' _No,'_ I thought. ' _Last time I checked,_ _ **friends**_ _didn't kiss…'_

' _But she hasn't said anything about being more than friends…'_

' _Yes, but neither have you. You can't expect her to ask openly about it if you yourself don't.'_

Ah! That was a good point.

With the bounce in my step returned, I walked towards the Windmill which was now in sight.

The warmth of the air surrounded me as I walked, my heart thumping in my chest the closer I got. I began to hear the distinct sound of humming, and knew with a smile that she was already waiting for me. The closer I got, the more recognisable to song became, even though I couldn't place my finger on the name of the tune.

The one thing I did know was that her humming was as beautiful as I remembered.

I circled the windmill, the light from the setting sun guiding my way. Soon enough, a head of burning, red hair came into view. It surprised me slightly to find that she wasn't garbed in Chantry clothing, instead wearing a simple loose sleeved shirt, and baggy fitted trousers. She sat upon the ground, a thin layer of blanket separating her from the grass. Next to her was a small basket, and I smiled knowingly, figuring out what she had planned.

As I approached, she stopped her humming and whipped her head around, her eyes coming onto me hastily. She gave me a smile, her eyes lighter. "Good evening," she greeted.

"Evenin'," I replied, coming to stand beside her. "It's a more pleasant night than yesterdays," I commented as I came to sit next to her.

"I wouldn't be so quick to judge," Leliana joked, giving me a flirty gaze. I chuckled, realising she meant our late night kisses. I dropped my gaze, a blush forming on my cheeks, something that had become a habit around the Orlesian woman.

My eyes lowered to her hand, which I was in glee to notice had the flower in its gentle grasp. I leaned over, taking the flower from her. I held the stem between two fingers and raised my other hand to her hair, taking the opportunity to run my fingers through the soft, feathery locks. I brushed the ginger strands away, making it so her ear was exposed. I threaded the stem behind her ear and into the hair behind, letting the whiteness of the flower and the red of her locks contrast beautifully.

Leliana giggled, bringing some of her hair back down around the petals. "You do know how to woo a lady," she teased me lightly. She turned, reaching into the basket and bringing out what looked to be cheese and a knife. She offered me both, a small indication for me to dig in.

We ate little, talked a lot, and watched as the sun lowered over the bridge of Lothering. We listened as birds began to settle down for the night, and how other types of wildlife made their way home through the many bushes and high grass patches. At some point during the watching, talking and listening, we had eaten our way through some bread and cheese, and an apple each. The bottle of wine lay in front of us, newly opened and half empty. Cups were brought for the sweet beverage, but neither of us saw the sense of dirtying them.

And, most importantly, we had found ourselves in a position where we were half sitting, half snuggling together on the blanket. Leliana's head was rested on my shoulder, her short, warm breath speeding down my neck.

She sighed contently, and I could feel her smile against my shoulder. She moved, and I felt he gaze upon me. I looked down to her, and returned her smile gladly.

"It's so good to be like this with someone again," she mumbled, watching me carefully.

"Well, in any case I'm glad it's me that gets the honour of doing so with you," I replied, leaning down to kiss her forehead. Her smile widened, my pride glowering in my chest. It was a great thing, to be the source of her happiness, and I hoped to continue being so for a long, long time after this.

I pulled away slowly, chuckling inwardly when she leaned up more and brought our lips together, her arms snaking around my neck to hold me close. I felt myself being pulled down, and suddenly we were both laying on the floor, me on top of her, her warm, lovely body heat coming through her top.

This kiss – or _kisses_ – were much, **much** different from oneswe had previously shared. Past kisses were chaste, innocent, _testing._ These were hungry kisses, kisses full of wanting and longing, kisses that left the both of us breathless and forcing us apart for air, only to smash back together for more. They were the kind of kisses that made me wonder what she wanted from that night. What she wanting from _me._

Or _with_ me.

It was an amazing feeling, to know that I did to her what she did to me.

We stayed that way for a long while, her hand occasionally running through my hair as her tongue played with my own. My own hands were giving different roles. One simply resting on her waist whilst the other kept me from putting my full weight on the woman below me.

Her hand slipped from my hair, much to my disappointment. And teasingly made its way over my shoulder, cupping my cheek for a few seconds before continuing its voyage.

Quickly, my disappointment left, and I knew _exactly_ what she wished to happen.

She reached for one of the several buttons of my tunic, her dextrous finger quickly undoing it with slight pop. Neither of us stopped the onslaught of kisses, but we both opened our eyes, and I saw the longing in the sea blue in front of me.

But also question.

I knew, that if I decided to stop in that moment, she would have respected my wishes and returned her hand to my hair.

Not that that actually happened, but it was relieving to know that it wasn't just sex that she wanted.

Soon enough, my shirt was slung away, the warm night air welcoming my bare skin into the dim light. I shuddered as Leliana ran her fingers across my back, her nails teasing at the pale skin they met. Excitement grew in me at the feeling, and I began to feel my groin pulsate with need.

Leaning fully onto my hand, I ran the tips of my free fingers down her loose top, reaching down to find the hem of the material. I grasped the cloth in my fist, pulling it up ever so slightly.

Then she stopped.

My heart fell into my stomach as she pulled away hastily, her hand coming down to mine. The wanting in her eyes had turned to worry, and I saw her swallow toughly with nervousness. "There are…" she muttered, dropping her gaze when she couldn't finish the words. She tried again, her eyes coming to mind once more. "The Orlesian Guards were… _far_ from kind," she continued, her voice small. "They did many things to make it so they left a lasting punishment on my person. There… there are scars…"

Her hand tightened around mine, my thoughts rushing back to the previous night, when her pale skin was accidentally exposed to me. How the two, thick white lines made themselves known, and how I was certain that they weren't the only two she had suffered from.

Leliana was letting me know that she was damaged goods, that she was self-conscious about her milky skin, and that I could pull away if the thought of seeing her disfigurements was too sickening.

Letting go of the cloth that shielded her from me, I slipped my hands underneath her shirt, marvelling at every little bump that passed under my fingers. There were small slashes, big slashes, thick, thin, ragged, and more. I couldn't even imagine the horror that she faced, the torture, and the pain. I pressed my nose deep into the hair that splayed across the blanket, slipped my arms under her and around her waist. "I swear, if I could pay those _bastards_ in kind for what they did to you, I would," I muttered against her warm skin.

"I know," she all but whispered, quietly stroking my hair.

I pulled away just enough to see her, and I was happy to note there were no tears present in her gorgeous eyes. I smiled down to her, and lightly pressed my lips to her nose. "But seeing as I can't," I continued. "We'll just have to make do with making new memories to replace the old ones. And I'll start by kissing every single mark they left on you." I leaned down again to kiss her cheek, feeling the smile there once I did. "Trust me Leliana, you don't have to worry about any scarring they did to you," I told her. "Not with me around."

I heard the happiness and relief in her exhale, and the nip of appreciation at my ear. "Thank you, Aedan," I heard her murmur. "I just wanted to assure myself that you wouldn't mind. Many people find the sight of such injuries very… _repellent_."

"Not me," I flashed her a sly smile, leaning down like capture her lips again. She pressed her body up into mine, running her hands along my bare back again, scrapping her nails up and down in a way that sent shivers up my spine. In return, I latched my teeth onto her neck, sucking on the skin I had trapped. She gave a shuddering moan, one that sent a spike straight to my manhood.

I reached back down to the bottom of her shirt, grasping at the hem and tugging. All the nervousness she had shown beforehand had gone, and instead of stopping me, she leaned up against my body so that I could take the clothing off easier. With a smile meeting my lips, I leaned away from her, just enough to take the clothing away.

Her words, I realised, were more than true.

The Orlesians had been anything _but_ kind. Thick, morbid scar tissue greeted me when I looked down, and it took me a while to notice that not all of them were cuts or slashes to rip the skin open.

No.

There were burnmarks.

Marks that were purposefully set to heal before violently torn open again.

Whoever was in charge of her… _interrogation_ had known what they were going.

I traced my fingertip down each one, breathing silently as she waited patiently. The worst one by far was a ragged burn mark, which stretched from just above her collar bone, down between her still-covered breasts, and ending near the right of her navel. It made me sick to think that someone could do such a thing to the woman beneath me.

Leaning forward once again, I pressed my lips to the top of the scar, dragging my tongue down to the top of her left breast. She sighed against the cool, evening air, running her hands through my locks. Looking up to her, I released one of my arms from around her waist to travel up her back, stroking the flesh before moving to the back of her breast band.

Without my asking, she nodded her permission, and gave me all the motivation I needed.

I rid her of the material smoothly, sending it to join our shirts. I followed the scar again, lightly rolling a hard, perky nipple between my thumb and finger before continuing my way down. I moved again, leaning down to nip the end of the burn.

I looked back up to her, smiling when I saw her eyes half lidden in want. I gave her navel a quick kiss before glancing up to her again. "You're gorgeous," I told her.

Leliana giggle, her voice lighting up the silence around us. She sat up, leaning toward me. She removed her hands from my hair and guided them down to my shoulders before giving me a light shove to send me down onto my back. Soon enough, she was they, resting on top of me as she kissed my neck. She sat on my lower stomach and on top on my trousers, making them pull uncomfortably. "Have you done this before?" she asked between kisses.

"Well… no," I admitted, stammering.

She chuckled as my face reddened, and removed herself from my neck. "Don't be embarrassed," she chided softly. "It's actually quite endearing." As I moved to groan, she cupped my face and silenced my complaint. Teasingly, she moved her hips against my groin, forcing a moan from me as I wrapped my arms tightly around her middle. "First times are exciting," she continued.

Slowly, she brought her hands from my cheek and leaned up on her knees, anticipation building in me as I watched her reach for my belt. She undid the buckle, tugging my trousers and underclothing down my legs. "They're wonderfully happy moments," she continued, settling down in my lap as she let my warm member settle squashed between our stomachs. "For some, they're the most pleasurable times of their lives."

Pushing me down onto the blanket, I breathed in a quick gasp as she took me in her hand, teasingly giving me a sharp pump with her fist.

" _Mon Amour_ …"

" _It would only be right to make this night so for you, non?"_

…

I lay on my back as I looked up at the night sky, counting the stars above my head. I ran my hand up and down Leliana's back every so often as she slept, her warm breath splaying across my chest. Feeling how cold she was, I grasped at the blanket pooled at our hips, bringing it up over her shoulder. She snuggled into my neck, giving off a little sigh.

I was cold, sweaty and stinking.

And I was loving every moment of it.

The night's activities had given me… _very_ mixed emotions.

First and foremost, I was ecstatic. I had been dreaming of this night nearly every evening for weeks, had wondered what it would feel like to be inside of the Orlesian Goddess. And that night had finally come, and it had felt… I don't even know how to explain it.

It had been, as Leliana had described; pleasurable.

 _Very_ pleasurable.

Which leads nicely onto the second emotion; _Embarrassment._

So caught up was I in the feeling of the woman around me, at the sight of this marvellous goddess rolling her hips in such an erotic fashion, how often she would squeeze around me to make me give little sounds of pleasure, I failed to notice when my ending was coming.

My _swift_ ending.

Before I knew it, I was holding her tightly around her middle, my hips working on their own as I spilt everything I had into her.

The rest of the evening was filled with little giggles and teasings from her, and repeated apologies from myself.

It was a little while after she had fallen asleep that I'd realised that my quick finish was the sole reason she took charge in the first place.

 _Minx…_

My last main emotion was worry.

I'd pushed _everything_ I had into her, every last drop. From what my private tutor had told me when I was younger, that resulted in pregnancy.

Was she pregnant? Did I really put a baby into her?

That was what made me worry. Was having a baby against Chantry rules? I knew that she hadn't taken vows, but there must have been _something_ against reproduction, even if she was only affirmed. I worried about what her fellow Chantry folk would do if they ever found out. They already ridiculed her, certainly this would only spike more dislike and harsh words.

However, even through the worry, I felt a sudden excitement about the idea. The thought of Leliana growing heavy with _my_ child sent a giddiness through me like I'd never known before. In my head, I imagined a child of four years, scruffy red hair and glowing blue eyes, as he or she ran around playing with Max or whatever dog we might have.

It felt _right_ to think of our possible future, and for the first time in years, I prayed to the Makar that this was our story. That we would have a happy future together with a small family.

Smiling down at the woman in my arms, I carefully traced my palm over her stomach, just under her navel, letting my hand linger for a few seconds.

I _wanted_ that future with her, and hoped that she wanted it, too.

With a heavy, happy sigh, a placed my hand back on her shoulder, making small circular motions with my index finger.

Slowly, I felt myself slipping into slumber, a smile gracing my lips as I thought about our future together.

…

Giggling?

Why could I hear giggling?

Frowning, I squinted my eyes open, looking around the dark village.

I could have sworn I heard laughter.

I looked over towards the Tavern, where I had heard the laughter, and saw a swift movement. Heading towards the Barn, I saw Elissa and Marian, who were walking together hand in hand. Both were looking over to me and the sleeping woman in my arms, Elissa giving a little wave to us, winking as she turned back towards the Barn.

' _Shit…'_

 ** _A.N: And that's all, folks :D_**

 ** _I enjoyed the story while it lasted, but as I stated in the last chapter, everything has its time._**

 ** _Thanks to everyone who Followed, Favourited and Reviewed this story, and an extra special thank you to MovieNut96 for prompting me to writ this Fic. You're all amazing :D_**

 ** _I'm hoping to do a Fem!InquisitorXJosephine Fic over the next week or so, so stick around for that in you're interested!_**

 ** _Thanks again guys, have a great day,_**

 ** _~RJay_**


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